England blow as Jos Buttler setback rules captain out of T20 series against Australia

England captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of this month’s T20 series against Australia and is a significant doubt for the ODIs that follow after suffering a setback in his recovery from a calf problem.

Buttler has been sidelined since England’s semi-final defeat to India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in June and missed the entirety of the Hundred.

The 33-year-old had initially hoped to make his comeback for Lancashire in Wednesday night’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Sussex, but those plans were shelved because of a setback that will now also see him miss all three T20s against Australia, the first of which is in Southampton on Wednesday.

Fellow wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt will captain the T20 side in Buttler’s absence, while Surrey all-rounder Jamie Overton has been called up as his replacement.

Buttler has not yet been ruled out of the five-match ODI series, which starts on September 19, but Essex’s Jordan Cox has already been added to the squad as further cover. It is likely that Harry Brook would captain the 50-over team were Buttler to miss out.

The two series are being billed as the start of a fresh white-ball cycle following two disappointing World Cup campaigns in the space of nine months, with five potential debutants included in the T20 squad announced last week.

Former England batter Marcus Trescothick is taking interim charge until Brendon McCullum unites the red- and white-ball jobs from the start of next year, after Matthew Mott was sacked earlier this summer.

Buttler survived that leadership shakeup and has been backed to stay on as captain to work alongside McCullum, though there have been hints that he may be willing to abandon the ‘keeping gloves, in the T20 format at least.

The ODI series against of Australia will be of particular importance as England look to reinvigorate a stagnant team ahead of February’s Champions Trophy.