Jos Buttler to miss England’s final T20 against Australia

Jos Buttler will miss England’s final T20 international against Australia on Tuesday at the Ageas Bowl.

The wicketkeeper-batsman left England’s bio-secure bubble on Sunday evening to be with his family, after playing a starring role in the team’s victory over Australia in the second T20 international.

Having featured in all six Test matches this summer prior to rejoining the white-ball side for the ongoing series, Buttler has been inside the team bubble for the last 10 weeks and has not seen his loved ones in that time.

Subject to testing, Buttler will return to the bio-secure bubble on Thursday ahead of the first ODI of the Royal London Series against Australia at Old Trafford on Friday.

In the meantime, his absence from the team opens the door for one of the reserve players to step up.

Sam Billings could be seen as a like-for-like replacement as a wicketkeeper-batsman but it is likelier that Jonny Bairstow will reclaim the gloves, leaving Billings to compete with Liam Livingstone and Joe Denly for a batting slot.

There is also a chance for either Dawid Malan or Tom Banton to move up to open the batting.

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood’s rapid new-ball blitz was followed by Buttler’s 77 not out from 54 balls as England eased to a series-sealing, six-wicket victory over Australia in the second T20I on Sunday.

Warne: No weakness to Buttler’s batting

Former Australian spinner Shane Warne works with Buttler in his role as part owner of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, where Buttler first made the move up the order to open the batting.

Warne said Buttler’s attributes make him perfect as an opener in T20 cricket.

“Yes, he can bat down the order and finish games – there’s a few players that can do that – but there’s not many players that can do this, win the game from the top,” Warne explained.

“It’s the perception of what he could do that upsets the bowlers. If you’re a bowler standing at the top of the mark, you’re thinking, what is he going to do?

“The key to his batting is the way he hits the ball, he hits it all round the ground. There’s no particular weakness to his batting, and when you don’t have a weakness, it’s hard to come up with a plan to bowl to him.

“When he starts moving around his crease, he’s got all the shots, the ramps, down the ground, good cricket shots and when you drop it short, he goes ‘whack’. He’s a 360 (degree) player.

“I thought his batting was fantastic. You thought the spinners were going to be the key in the middle overs, but they just couldn’t get that done – that was due to Buttler’s brilliance.

“It was outstanding batting; that’s why he’s one of the best players in this form of the game.”

Watch the third and final T20 international between England and Australia live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.30pm on Tuesday, with the ODI series getting underway from 12.30pm on Friday.

(c) Sky Sports 2020: Jos Buttler to miss England’s final T20 against Australia