September 6, 2024

Phil Salt to captain England in Australia T20Is with injured Jos Buttler out

Jos Buttler is a major doubt for England’s ODI series against Australia due to a recent calf injury setback. He has already been ruled out of England’s T20I series against Australia, and his participation in the upcoming five-match ODI series is uncertain. Phil Salt will take over as captain for the T20 matches.

Buttler, England’s limited-overs captain, initially injured his right calf in July while preparing for the Hundred tournament, which forced him to miss it. He was aiming to return in Lancashire’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Sussex on Wednesday night as a preparation for the ODI series, which starts on September 11 at the Utilita Bowl.

But having aggravated the injury, he could now miss the rest of the summer, having not played any cricket since England’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India on June 27. “Frustrating to have a setback with the injury but working hard to get it right,” Buttler wrote on his Instagram story.

Phil Salt, who previously captained Manchester Originals during the Hundred while filling in for Jos Buttler, will lead England in the T20I series against Australia and also take on wicketkeeping duties.

England’s Leadership Changes and Player Updates Ahead of the ODI Series

Harry Brook, currently vice-captain for England’s Test team, is expected to captain the ODI series, which begins with the first of five matches at Trent Bridge on September 19.

Surrey allrounder Jamie Overton has been added to the T20I squad but will likely play as a specialist batter as he recovers from a back injury. Jordan Cox, who is with the Test squad, has been added to the ODI squad as a backup.

England hopes Buttler can return for the ODI series, but this injury is a setback as the team transitions to a younger squad following the disappointments in the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups.

On Tuesday, Brendon McCullum was announced as the new head coach, taking over from Matthew Mott and combining the Test and limited-overs coaching roles. McCullum is tasked with revitalizing the team. In the meantime, Marcus Trescothick will lead the team until McCullum officially takes over at the start of 2025. The upcoming Australia series would have been a chance for Jos Buttler to make a strong impression after a challenging couple of years.

It’s important to note that this is Buttler’s third calf injury in the past four years. With his 34th birthday approaching on Sunday, Buttler’s future as captain and his long-term career may depend on him considering giving up wicketkeeping duties to reduce the strain on his body.

Tymal Mills Calls Blast Schedule ‘Stupid’ as England Players Miss Finals Day

Sussex captain Tymal Mills was thrilled to lead his team to Finals Day in his first season as their T20 captain but was frustrated that Jofra Archer will miss the event due to a scheduling conflict. Mills called the situation “pretty stupid” and “a real shame.”

Blast Finals Day, featuring two semi-finals and the final in one day at Edgbaston, is scheduled for September 14. Meanwhile, England will play their second and third T20Is against Australia on September 13 and 15. The ECB is exploring options, but players will only be released for domestic finals if they are not needed for the final two T20Is.

“As far as I’m aware, no England players will be available – which is pretty stupid, to be honest,” Mills said after captaining Sussex to an eight-wicket win over Lancashire in Wednesday night’s quarter-final at Hove, in which Archer took 2 for 20. “Obviously no England players will be there from any side, but it is a real shame for us to lose a player like Jof. Whoever comes in for him will have big boots to fill.”

Surrey, who won their match against Durham at The Oval on Tuesday, will be most impacted by player call-ups. Jamie Overton has been added to the England T20I squad as injury cover, joining Sam Curran, Will Jacks, and Reece Topley. Surrey is also waiting to find out if their Test players—Gus Atkinson, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, and Jamie Smith—will be available.

In addition, uncapped allrounders Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethell are part of England’s T20I squad.

“I know Warwickshire will be without Mousley and Bethell – two of their better players – if they beat Gloucestershire on Friday,” Mills said. “It’s disappointing. This is a big day of the year and you’d like your best players there.”

“For us, it hurts us a lot, because you take Jofra Archer out of your team and it is a huge loss. Other counties – Surrey, for example – can maybe cover their losses a bit better than what we can, but it is what it is. The XI that’s taking the field on the 14th will have to step up. But I’m sure you won’t find many people that will agree with the schedule and say, ‘Yeah, it’s great.'”

Blast Quarter-Final Delays and Sussex’s Strong Season Under Tymal Mills

The Blast’s quarter-finals were held over six weeks after the group stage ended, a delay that Kent captain Sam Billings criticized as “ridiculous.” However, many counties prefer this longer break because it gives them more time to sell tickets. This strategy resulted in a record crowd at The Oval on Tuesday and a sellout at Hove on Wednesday.

Sussex has had a strong season under captain Tymal Mills. They missed the quarter-finals last year under Ravi Bopara but have won 10 out of 15 games this season. Australian player Daniel Hughes is the Blast’s top run-scorer, Mills is the third-highest wicket-taker, and James Coles has had an impressive all-round season.

“I love the club,” Mills said. “This is my 10th year now, and I don’t just want to waste my last few years ticking over and then ride off into the sunset without anything to show for it. I put myself forward for the captaincy when Ravi left… I could have gone elsewhere at some point over the last few years and gone to a bigger club but I live here and this is where I want to be.

“I’ve never even captained in a club game before, but I’ve really loved it. I’ve always been a senior player and I like to think about the game a lot: I don’t just stand at fine leg, look at the sky and twiddle my thumbs… One thing I’ve learned is just to trust your gut. There were a couple of times when I’ve got a little bit defensive with fields or bowling changes, and it comes back to haunt you.”

“I take T20 cricket very seriously, because it’s all I do, whereas I felt maybe as a club, there were players that maybe didn’t quite take it as seriously – which is hard, when guys are playing all formats. I’m 32 now. I’m not going to be playing forever. I want to win as many games as I can and nothing would mean more to me than winning [the Blast] for Sussex.”

Mills has been particularly pleased at Sussex’s aggression with the bat, having reached 200 in five out of seven innings while batting first. “We’re playing positive, entertaining cricket,” he said. “We were poor here [at Hove] for the last few years, and our record here has really improved. I’m really proud of everything that the coaching staff and the players have done to get this far.

“First of all, you want to get out of the group. We did that, and to win a knockout game against a very experienced and talented Lancashire side was obviously really pleasing as well. We’ll wait to see who we will play at Edgbaston next Saturday, but we’ll turn up expecting to win. That’s the attitude now that the team have.”