Brendon McCullum, the head coach of England, hailed Jos Buttler as one of the all-time great white-ball cricketers to have played for the country.
Jos Buttler’s Injury
Jos Buttler has been ruled out because of a calf injury, which sees Phil Salt come in as captain in his absence. The injury to Buttler would also throw his participation in doubt during the ensuing five-match ODI series against Australia. In an interview with Sky Sports, McCullum said that Buttler has had an extraordinary career so far and has certainly proved himself beyond doubt at 34 years of age.
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“I think Jos has had an unbelievable career. If he were to retire tomorrow, he goes down as arguably the greatest white-ball player England has ever had. He has nothing left to prove. I want him to get into a space in the next few years where he isn’t trying to protect anything. He just goes out there and absolutely loves playing for England, loves leading the white-ball side and is able to get the most out of the talent around him,” McCullum was quoted by Sky Sports as saying.
McCullum Backs Buttler
Brendon McCullum also mentioned about his duty to keep pushing Buttler as he is the top player for the team.
“That is my responsibility to keep pushing him towards that and keep reaffirming that message to him. Hopefully, he will be back from his injuries soon. The priority will be the Champions Trophy, so we are going to make sure he is ready for that,” he added.
“It gives us some time to spark those conversations and formulate those structures and plans to marry up our beliefs and the language we are going to use with the team to get the most out of what sits in that dressing room,” he added.
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England Vs Australia, T20I Series Schedule And Squad
The T20I series begins on September 11 in Southampton. The second will be played on September 13 in Cardiff, while the series-ender will be contested on September 15 in Manchester.
First T20I: September 11 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Second T20I: September 13 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Third T20I: September 15 at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
England: Phil Salt (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, John Turner
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa