Jos Buttler doubtful for Australia T20Is after withdrawing from Blast Quarter Final

Jos Butler has been ruled out of Lancashire's T20 Blast quarter-final as he faced a setback in his recovery from a calf injury.  It is highly unlikely that he will fully recover for England’s T20 series against Australia. 

England are not sweating on Buttler’s fitness ahead of their opening T20I on September 11 and remains hopeful that the wicketkeeper batter will be available to lead the side throughout Australia’s eight-match white ball leg. England’s new-look squad are due to report to the Utilita Bowl on Sunday ahead of their two-day training session when their medical staff will get a better idea as to whether Buttler will be available.  

England’s white-ball sides do not have an official vice-captain, with Phil Salt and Sam Curran the prime contenders to deputise in the event. Buttler is not expected to do the glove work during the shortest format, which increases the chance of him featuring in the series despite suffering a setback. 

Buttler has not played competitive cricket since England’s semi-final loss to India at June’s World T20 League. He suffered a calf injury in July while preparing for Men’s Hundred which excluded him from the tournament, and had been eyeing Wednesday’s Quarter-Final at Hove for a comeback following weeks of rehabilitation. 

But he has now been officially ruled out of contention, as coach Dale Benkenstein corroborated the news to BBC Radio Lancashire. We've had some bad news on his recovery," Benkenstein said. "He had an injury he was recovering from, and he's sort of tweaked it again. He's not only just out of our T20s, but I think he's even struggling to make the international ones. He was very keen to play for us." 

Salt, Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood are all set to feature for Lancashire on Wednesday night at Hove. Express pacer Jofra Archer is also believed to be available for selection for Tymal Mills-led Sussex. Since 2019, Hove has not hosted a T20 game in front of a crowd, and tickets have been sold out for the last couple of weeks.