Livingstone to Lead England in the West Indies

Liam Livingstone is set to captain England in their upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies, stepping in for Jos Buttler, who continues to recover from a calf injury. Buttler, 34, has been sidelined since the T20 World Cup in June and will sit out the three one-day internationals in the Caribbean. Despite his absence from the ODIs, Buttler is expected to rejoin the team as captain for the five-match T20 series that follows.

Essex wicketkeeper Michael Pepper, who is uncapped, has been added to the ODI squad, while Livingstone, 31, will take the reins for the first time in Buttler’s absence. This marks a significant shift in fortune for Livingstone, who was initially left out of the squad for last month’s series against Australia, only to be recalled after Buttler’s injury.

Livingstone, a key member of England’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2022, has previous leadership experience, having captained Lancashire in the T20 Blast and Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. While England has downplayed Buttler's injury as "minor," there is growing concern, as this marks his third calf injury since 2021.

Buttler initially missed The Hundred but was retained as captain and included in England's squads for the Australia series. However, he withdrew from both the T20 and ODI series due to the ongoing calf issue. Harry Brook, who captained England during the ODI series against Australia, is not part of this tour as he is currently on the Test tour of Pakistan.

England Squad for West Indies Tour  

Jos Buttler (Lancashire – captain, T20 series only), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Jafer Chohan (Yorkshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Will Jacks (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dan Mousley (Warwickshire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Michael Pepper (Essex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), John Turner (Hampshire)

Two additional players to be named from the Test squad currently in Pakistan.

West Indies Tour Schedule

ODI Series  

- First ODI: Thursday, 31 October, 18:00 GMT (Antigua)  

- Second ODI: Saturday, 2 November, 13:30 GMT (Antigua)  

- Third ODI: Wednesday, 6 November, 18:00 GMT (Barbados)

T20 Series (all at 20:00 GMT)  

- First T20: Saturday, 9 November (Barbados)  

- Second T20: Sunday, 10 November (Barbados)  

- Third T20: Thursday, 14 November (St. Lucia)  

- Fourth T20: Saturday, 16 November (St. Lucia)  

- Fifth T20: Sunday, 17 November (St. Lucia)