Sports
Buttler ruled out of Pakistan white-ball tour
September 28, 2026
Source: SkySports | News · Read on source site
Jos Buttler will miss England's white-ball tour of Pakistan after suffering an injury against Sri Lanka in the second ODI at Headingley; Tom Banton opened the batting in the third ODI on Sunday, making 126 off 105 balls in his absence; Jordan Cox expected to keep wicket
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>England will begin the next phase of their preparations for the 50-over World Cup without Jos Buttler after the former captain was ruled out of their upcoming white-ball tour of Pakistan.
>Buttler injured his hamstring during his innings against Sri Lanka at Headingley last week, initially retiring hurt before returning to the crease later on despite being visibly hampered by the injury.
>He sat out Sunday's series decider at the Kia Oval, which England won comfortably by 223 runs, and has now been ruled out of next month's 50-over tri-series.
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>That leaves England without arguably their most accomplished white-ball player as they look to build a side capable of challenging for silverware in southern Africa next winter, with no guarantee yet that the 36-year-old will be fit to return for the subsequent tour of Australia in November.
>"Jos won't be in Pakistan," limited-overs coach Brendon McCullum confirmed.
>"We know he's an incredible athlete, we know he's supremely fit and an ultra-professional, so he'll do everything he can to get back as soon as possible, but it's hard to judge how long that will be.
>"It's disappointing not to have Jos but it will be good for us to see where we're at. Between now and 14 months' time lots of things will go wrong, there'll be lots of selections you think will happen and someone will get injured, or there'll be a scheduling issue.
>"You almost have to catastrophise these things a little to prepare yourself for that World Cup."
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>In the short term, that means an extended opportunity for Jordan Cox as the wicketkeeper-batter. He returned to the ODI side for the first time in nearly two years against Sri Lanka and capped an impressive summer by steering England through the death overs with a fluent 76.
>"I thought that was quite a Jos Buttler innings," said McCullum.
>"Cox will definitely get the opportunity in Pakistan. He's done really well domestically for a number of years and he's been unlucky with injuries when he's been on the cusp previously.
>"He's deserved it. He's very well liked in our dressing room and he seems to be one of those guys who is good at whatever he does, which can be incredibly annoying.
>"He's a good lad with a huge amount of runway in front of him in his career."
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>England are set to finalise their squad for Pakistan within the next 24 hours, with Sam Curran pushing for a return after a groin problem and further checks to be carried out on Adil Rashid's bowling hand. Jacob Bethell, meanwhile, is still recovering from a knee injury.
>For McCullum, there is now a short break after a rollercoaster summer. Having retained his position as England's all-format head coach following a difficult Ashes campaign, he showed a willingness to adapt his methods, bolstering his backroom staff and taking a more rigorous approach to training.
>He was subsequently removed from the Test role following Ben Stokes' retirement and the series defeat by New Zealand, but enters the winter programme in charge of an improving white-ball side that has won 11 of its last 13 matches.
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>McCullum's latest challenge is to turn England into "the fittest, fastest, most dynamic and robust cricket team out there", while he has also outlined plans to bolster the touring schedule with additional warm-up matches after scrapping such fixtures during his early days in charge of the red-ball side.
>Reflecting on a season of change and looking ahead to his split coaching partnership with new Test head coach Stephen Fleming, McCullum said: "It's been eventful. I genuinely feel right now, at the end of the summer, English cricket is certainly in a really good place.
>"I loved coaching all three formats. The four years I had as Test coach were one of the most enjoyable periods of my time in cricket. But things move on, times change. I think Stephen [Fleming] will do an unbelievable job with the Test side.
>"Overall, it's no bad thing that it sits the way it sits now."