Jos Buttler Suffers Injury Setback; Set To Miss ODI Series Against West Indies

Liam Livingstone to captain England for the ODI series in Buttler's absence

Buttler missed England’s ODI and T20 series against Australia in September and did not feature in The Hundred due to a calf injury / Getty Images.

By Ian Omoro

Jos Buttler's long-standing calf strain has forced him to miss next week's ODI leg of England's Caribbean tour, delaying his comeback as white-ball skipper by at least three more games.

The 34-year-old has been sidelined by the injury for four months and hasn't participated in a competitive game since England's June loss to India in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana. In addition to missing the whole Manchester Originals Hundred campaign, he also pulled out of the September T20I and ODI series against Australia.

According to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Buttler has suffered “a slight setback in his rehabilitation” while recovering from a calf injury and will not be back in time for the three-match series.

In Buttler's absence, Liam Livingstone has been selected as England's ODI captain. It will be his first opportunity in the role since Harry Brook, Buttler's stand-in for the ODIs against Australia, is now in Rawalpindi training for the third Test against Pakistan.

Buttler's continuing absence will raise questions about his international future, despite assurances from Brendon McCullum, England's incoming white-ball coach, that he will remain at the forefront of his plans, with McCullum specifically stating that "he's been a little bit miserable at times."

Marcus Trescothick, England's temporary white-ball coach who will be leading the Caribbean tour, insisted that "there's no reason why Jos won't fit back into that mould, score millions of runs, captain well, and fit back into the team perfectly" despite Buttler's absence from the Australia series.

The selectors had always planned to bring two more players to the tour, contingent on the team selection for the third Test in Rawalpindi, but Michael Pepper, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, has been added to the group as cover. Among the potential inclusions are Olly Stone, who returned to the team following his honeymoon but was left out of the game, and Jordan Cox, England's backup Test batter, who made his white-ball debut against Australia.