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Leicestershire have turned to South Africa to bolster their batting strength, signing batsman Colin Ackermann on a two-year contract.The signing will encourage the belief that English counties are eager to raid South Africa for players who suspect their chances of progression may be limited in their own country because of stiffened transformation policies.Ackermann, a former South Africa U-19 international, will qualify as a non-overseas player. He has a first-class record approaching 40, the latest of seven hundreds coming for Warriors against Titans last week. He also has 10 half-centuries in the two limited-overs formats.Leicestershire’s head coach Pierre de Bruyn, a fellow South African, said: “Colin is a quality top order batsman who can also bowl some useful off-spin, and he will offer us a good option in all three formats of the game. He will provide us with further competition for places.”Ackermann does have previous knowledge of Leicestershire, having represented Kibworth in 2012. He also played a Second XI match for Leicestershire that year, top-scoring with 73 in a low-scoring match against Northants.Leicestershire have stabilised under the guidance of their chief executive Wasim Khan, a former chief executive of the Chance to Shine charity, which seeks to promote cricket in State schools. However, his specialist knowledge has – perhaps unsurprisingly considering the inevitable time lag – brought no overnight transformation in Leicestershire’s ability to produce players from a wider talent base.

The Supersub experiment, which made Vikram Solanki a little piece of cricket history in 2005 when he was the first used, came and went from one-day internationals after less than a year, but Jonny Bairstow’s one-day career is reviving the memories.For the second time in two seasons he replaced Jos Buttler – one of the biggest pairs of shoes to fill in one-day cricket – and produced a match-winning performance. Last year against New Zealand, at Chester-le-Street, he struck an unbeaten 83 to secure a series victory, in his first ODI innings for nearly three years, but at least on that occasion he had fair warning that he would be needed when called in as cover for Buttler who had split his webbing.On Thursday, at his home ground of Headingley, he had “about 32 minutes” before walking out with the gloves after Buttler pulled up lame in warm-ups. A few minutes more, after the toss, and England would either have had to patch up Buttler or ask for permission from Pakistan to replace him.Bairstow was very tidy behind the stumps – he was especially sharp against Chris Jordan’s late yorkers – and then contributed a measured 61 off 83 balls, the second half-century of his bitty one-day career, to ensure England turned around a potentially problematic 72 for 4 into another comfortable victory.Yet it is entirely possible, should Buttler be fit for the final match in Cardiff, and he was rated a good chance to be available, that Bairstow will be back carrying the drinks on Sunday.”I don’t really get a choice, do I? It’s the decision they make,” Bairstow said. “It’s beyond my pay grade, selection and who bats where.”I’ll be desperately disappointed. But that’s me as a person, the will to play for England in any format going. When you’re left out of the side, it’s not very nice – and when you get in, you want to assess that opportunity and take it by the nuts and crack on.”All Bairstow’s one-day opportunities since the last World Cup have come when other players have been rested or injured. Earlier this season he played the whole one-day series against Sri Lanka – albeit batting just three times – because Ben Stokes was unavailable and last year played three times against Australia when Buttler was given a break.He watched on from the Trent Bridge dressing room as England racked up 444 for 3 – as did his key ally in this match, Stokes, but at least he was in the XI – and while he acknowledged the enviable options that are helping produce England’s eye-catching displays it does not make missing out any easier.”It’s a special group of players, and we believe we can go a long way in world competitions and series,” he said. “But naturally, I’m frustrated not to be in that XI week in week out.”Every time I get an opportunity I want to try to impress, and that’s all I can do. Opportunities at the moment are a bit few and far between. You’ve just got to take it on the chin, crack on and hope you take the opportunity when it does come along.”Adding to the significance of the moment for Bairstow, his Man-of-the-Match performance came on his late father’s birthday. After the game, he tweeted a picture in front of the Yorkshire capped players board with the message: “Delighted with today… Special day! Happy Birthday Dad… That’s one for you!”

ScorecardRyan Sidebottom is back in the wickets after a seven-match lay-off•Getty Images

Yorkshire may learn between now and the end of the season how much they have missed Ryan Sidebottom during the seven matches he has been forced to miss because of an ankle injury. In that time they have won only twice and while there have been other factors at play, not least the weather, it is not unreasonable to speculate that, had he been steaming in, business as usual, they might have created a few more opportunities at the very least.The veteran left-armer will be 39 in January, far too old, you would say, to be doing what he does, yet there has been no evidence during the last couple of years that his powers are waning. Last year he finished top of Yorkshire’s averages with 41 wickets at a stingy 17.9 runs each; in 2014 it was 48 at 18.35.His longevity as a bowler is a wonder, given that he hardly lopes in off a few gentle strides. It would not be Ryan Sidebottom if he were not thundering in, nostrils flaring, that familiar leonine mane adding to the sense of speed and menace. It is a testament to how well he looks after himself, and how well Yorkshire have managed his workload.It was doubtless a little embarrassing, then, that the hairline fracture that has kept him out of action since April had to be put down not to what he did to himself in that match against Warwickshire, but to a mishap incurred subsequently, when he managed to do further damage to the same ankle playing a football game in the dressing room.It goes without saying that the consequences of this could have been pretty depressing. Happily, though, all looks well. Reassuming his customary role as the leader of the Yorkshire attack, he bowled 15 overs, taking the second Warwickshire wicket and the last, either side of the one that happened to be the 400th first-class wicket of his Yorkshire career.”It is a relief to be okay, a huge relief,” he admitted afterwards.”It was one of those stupid accidents that can happen and at this stage of my career, of course there is always that worry in the back of you mind. You wonder what’s going to happen, am I going to be back next year?”But Yorkshire have looked after me well, I’ve played the last three weeks in the seconds to get some bowling under my belt and it is great to be back and to contribute.”We’ve got seven games left and if I can contribute to the team winning a couple we are going to be there or thereabouts again at the end of the season.”There was pride, too, that he had been able to add another milestone, having passed 700 career first-class wickets last season. “Dizzy (Jason Gillespie) congratulated me and announced it to all the lads in the dressing room and that was really nice of him,” he said.The bigger proportion of those Yorkshire wickets – 238 out of 401 now – have come since he returned to his home county from Nottinghamshire in 2011, when the Trent Bridge club decided the three-year contract he wanted was too big a risk. Even he thought it would be the last one he signed. In the event, he has extended it twice, to six years. Moreover, those 238 wickets have come at 20.99 runs each, compared with an overall career average of 23.99. He genuinely has improved with age.The 400th, fittingly, was an important one, prising out Sam Hain on 48 when it seemed the talented 21-year-old right-hander could be set to compensate for the failures of Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell by bookending a string of good performances in white-ball cricket with back-to-back Championship hundreds, following on from his one against Hampshire in early July.Trott, miscueing a pull, gave a return catch to Jack Brooks, another whose return from injury may have come at a timely moment, while Bell, on the drive, sliced a ball from Steve Patterson straight to backward point. With Hain’s demise, Warwickshire were in trouble at 112 for 6.That they managed to scrape their way from there to 179 all out was almost entirely down to Rikki Clarke, another who would argue that age is just a number. At 34 he’s just a young ‘un next to Sidebottom but there are a few miles on the clock. Yet as an all-rounder – batsman, bowler and brilliant slip fielder – he still stands above the rest in the county game.He proved it here, first with the unbeaten 50 that kept Warwickshire in the game and then, in a superb evening’s work, with four wickets, reducing Yorkshire to 68 for 5. He had Adam Lyth and Travis Head caught by Varun Chopra at first slip and later, in consecutive deliveries, bowled Jack Leaning with a swinging full-length ball and had nightwatchman Patterson leg before.”To score an unbeaten 50 and then take four wickets in 15 overs made it an outstanding day for him,” Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Dougie Brown, said. “We needed someone to step forward and do something and that is exactly what Rikki did. He has brought us back into the game and far closer than before Yorkshire started their second innings.”Yorkshire closed on 78 for 5, their lead just 156. The pitch is dry, there is turn and bounce and what Jeetan Patel does on day three could be as important as Clarke’s contribution on day two.

ScorecardRory Burns made his first century of the season•PA Photos

Rory Burns, the Surrey opening batsman, struck his first century of the season as the visitors made light work on a flat track at the Ageas Bowl.Burns, who became the 2,000th Surrey player to reach three figures in first-class cricket, looked at ease during his 144 ball stay before knocking his 17th boundary to take him to three figures.Hampshire, who toiled for nearly two thirds of the day, finally had something to cheer about in the evening as they pegged the away side back somewhat with a handful of wickets.The early stages of this match was always going to rely heavily on who won the toss, with the track looking impeccably hard and flat.Gareth Batty, just as predictably, refused the offer of bowling first before winning the coin flip – the skipper has yet to lose a toss this season.Burns, with the equally unimpeachable Dominic Sibley, saw off the first session with ease – the pair already up to 72 in the opening hour, Hampshire already being forced to use all four seamers.Burns quickly moved past 4,500 runs for his first-class career, before reaching his 25th format fifty at an almost run a ball 54 deliveries.He continued to cash in after lunch to climb to three figure, playing the aggressor to Sibley’s watchful style, in 144 balls.Sibley, who passed his half century in almost same amount of time it took Burns to reach a ton, 141 balls, was waiting patiently for the poor ball to come along.The partnership appeared impenetrable with seemingly every option exhausted – before Mason Crane produced a corker to see off Burns 10 balls before tea.The young leg spinner pitching one outside off stump and back of a length to the left hander to turn back to cramp Burns up for space – edging low to Sean Ervine at first slip.Crane continued his troubling turners to get Zafar Ansari before he had got going – tempting the al-rounder down the track before Lewis McManus smartly swivelled and stumped.Soon after the new ball was taken, which was the first thing to cause Sibley a sweat in his heavy cable knit jumper.Reaching 99, the only other time he has a Championship century was on his debut when he bagged a record 242, he was bowled by a Gareth Berg delivery which moved back off the seam to crunch into the off stump.Berg, who finished the day the pick of the bowlers with two for 47, then had a short and tempered battle with Jason Roy – the bowler, after missing the outside edge twice and having an lbw shout turned down, finally got his man leg before.Quietly, as the wickets tumbled around him, Australian international Aaron Finch teed off in entertaining fashion – pilfering a quick 50 before the close to stand overnight on 56, his team on top at 332 for 4.

Muttiah Muralitharan has become the second former Sri Lanka cricketer to work with Australia’s players ahead of the upcoming Test series on the island. Captain Steven Smith confirmed Murali had begun to work with Australia’s spinners in their training sessions in Colombo, where the team arrived last weekend. Murali is expected to continue in this consulting role until the start of the first Test, in Pallekele. Some Australia players had also worked with former Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who is presently coaching at the National Cricket Academy in Brisbane.”Murali’s got a lot of experience in Sri Lanka,” Smith said. “He took a truckload of wickets. It’s great to have someone like that helping our spinners in this series – to give us that insight. He’s been really good around the group so far, and he’s enjoying his time with us.”

SL’s injury concerns continue

Ongoing injuries will continue to affect Sri Lanka’s bowling stocks through the Australia tour, with Dushmantha Chameera ruled out of the forthcoming series with the same stress injury that had seen him withdraw from the England tour. Angelo Mathews said the team was also still waiting on Dhammika Prasad’s shoulder injury to heal.
“Dhammika’s situation is not 100% yet, but he’ll start bowling very soon,” he said. “Dushmantha Chameera won’t be available.”
Sri Lanka is also waiting on legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who is yet to play a Test, but had been in contention for a Test cap following an encouraging start in the limited-overs formats.
“We’re not quite sure yet about Vandersay,” Mathews said. “He tried to bowl a couple of sessions and he suffered quite a bit in the third session and had to stop bowling. The physio is working with him, but he’s looking unlikely.”

Australia had previously hired Murali in a short-term consulting role ahead of their Test series against Pakistan, in the UAE, in 2014. Both offspinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who are on the Sri Lanka tour, had worked with Murali on that occasion. He has had two training sessions with the Australia team in this stint so far.”Murali has been fantastic around the guys,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said. “Murali loves the game of cricket, so I’m sure he’d work well with other teams as well – he’s a fantastic coach.”Also equipping Australia with knowledge of Sri Lankan conditions is batting consultant Stuart Law, who worked as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach from 2009 to 2011 and also briefly as the interim head coach. Law will be with the Australia side through the tour. The visitors’ first and only practice match against a Sri Lanka Board XI will begin on July 18 – seven days after the team arrived on the island.”We made a choice to come a little bit earlier,” Lehmann said. “Steven likes the extra time. That’s the best thing for all the guys for this tour – it’s a tough tour, as we know. Stuart Law has spent some time here and has some expertise. To have him and Murali to talk about the way the wickets might play in Kandy, Colombo and Galle, and how Sri Lanka play and how we should play, has been great.”There had been consternation within SLC earlier in the year, when Mahela Jayawardene worked with England ahead of the World T20, but Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was less perturbed by Murali’s appointment.”Well he’s a professional and he’s into coaching now,” Mathews said. “I think helping Australia out with insight – he’s got so much experience – it will be a great help for them to get some advice.”The first of three Tests begins in Pallekele on July 26. The series is unusually beginning in Kandy in order to get the Pallekele Test out of the way before the – a Buddhist festival – season begins in the city.

Thursday’s showdown at Malahide against Sri Lanka will be the first of 11 ODIs for Ireland in a busy fixture list through the end of September. Cricket Ireland chairman Ross McCollum said that though the fan build up to the Sri Lanka series had been positive, commercial success was not the biggest priority for the series, but rather getting an opportunity to improve Ireland’s ranking on the 12-team ODI table.”First and foremost, it’s been great to get these games, and hopefully, we’ll play between 12 and 15 ODIs this year, which is a significant change compared to what we’ve played in the past,” McCollum told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s important that we get as many people as we can, but for us, it’s all about playing the games. Playing the games is extremely important to us, not just because of the 12-team ODI system at the moment, but it’s for our players to play against that level of competition. That needs to continue for us to improve.”Hopefully, we’ll get good weather, good cricket and we’ll have a good day. The support for Ireland has always been pretty positive and pretty good, so hopefully that won’t change. I know there has been a lot of support from the Asian community in Dublin, so hopefully we’ll get a large crowd there. For us, it’s always good to play in front of a good crowd, because it certainly adds to the atmosphere and adds to Cricket Ireland’s coffers, no doubt.”Ireland’s most recent fixtures came in the World T20, where they suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Oman in their opening group fixture, and ultimately went winless to fall short of qualifying for the main draw. Though the performance fell short of expectations, McCollum said that confidence remained high coming into the Sri Lanka matches, keeping in mind Ireland’s performance at the 50-over World Cup in 2015, when they defeated West Indies.”I think everybody is well aware that our performance in the T20 World Cup was probably not what we expected,” McCollum said. “There’s no doubt about that and there’s nobody more aware of that than the actual players and the squad themselves. I don’t think they have points to prove, because in ODI cricket, they’ve played very well and people forget how well we did in the World Cup 12, 14, 15 months ago. But the players look forward to these types of games and they’re always out to prove themselves against this quality of opposition.”Aside from Ireland’s two matches against Sri Lanka, their home slate also includes a five-ODI series against Afghanistan and two ODIs against Pakistan. A return series against Afghanistan is tentatively scheduled to be held early next year, and McCollum said the possibility of ODIs or T20s against UAE or Oman could potentially be packaged as part of an Asia tour, though cost would be the deciding factor.Ross McCollum said Cricket Ireland could consider scheduling matches against countries like Oman and UAE as part of an Asia tour•International Cricket Council

“The ICC, certainly with regard to the Afghanistan matches, they’ve helped considerably or else they wouldn’t have happened, so we’d be hopeful of that going forward over the next two to three years,” McCollum said. “It’s something that we’re very conscious of, because for Ireland to get to where they are now, we’ve been helped by other Full Members along the way.”Certainly, I’m of the view that where there is an opportunity for us to do that and it’s financially viable, then yes, we would assist with regard to that. A lot of it depends on where we are, who is available, and how much it’s going to cost. Even though we have nothing set in stone with regard to UAE or Oman and countries like that and playing against them, I certainly would be quite positive that it’s something we would look at.”Ireland have already confirmed a tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh for 2017’s home summer, and McCollum said they were currently in negotiations for a series against Zimbabwe. McCollum acknowledged that getting to eighth place on the ODI table for the September 2017 cutoff date for 2019 World Cup qualification would be “extremely challenging” due to Ireland’s current standing on the ODI table – in 12th place with 42 points, which is 52 behind eighth-placed West Indies – but said it was equally important for Ireland to stay competitive against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the event that they have to face off against them in a 2018 World Cup Qualifier.”We’re going to be down in South Africa in September,” McCollum said. “We will play South Africa and Australia when we’re down there because they have an ODI series, so they’re basically using us as preparation for that, which we’re quite happy to accommodate with. We’re working on some more fixtures before the end of the year, but that has not been confirmed. Since the start of the 12-team ODI system, we’ve engaged with all of the Full Members with regards to matches building through to 2017 and 2018.”Hopefully we’ll have something against Zimbabwe in the not-too-distant future. It’s great playing marquee matches against all the big nations, but we still have to look after our world ranking and make sure we’re competitive at that level. So for us, the Afghanistan matches are absolutely key.”

ScorecardJesse Ryder thrashed 42 to get Essex’s chase off to a flying start (file photo)•Getty Images

Essex strolled to a seven-wicket victory with 22 balls to spare in their T20 Blast encounter with Glamorgan in Cardiff.Chasing a modest 140 for 6, the visitors made light of their task, reaching 143 for 3 after opener Jesse Ryder set them on their way with a pulsating innings. The New Zealander struck 42 from 23 balls that included one six and eight fours. He found an admirable ally in Tom Westley as the pair added 55 runs in five overs following the departure of Ravi Bopara for 4.When Ryder departed with the score on 64 for 2, Westley continued the fine start, easing the visitors to the halfway point of their reply at 87 for 2.He finally departed for a 29-ball 41 when bowled by Colin Ingram but 19 year-old Dan Lawrence and experienced allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate saw their side to their first win of the season in the competition with an unbroken partnership of 49 runs in a little over five overs.It all overshadowed the Glamorgan debut of South Africa paceman Dale Steyn, who is with the county for six matches in the competition. He might have had a wicket with his first ball but Bopara was dropped by Aneurin Donald at second slip. Although he beat the bat on a couple of occasions, he was punished by Ryder in particular and his three overs went for 32 runs.Donald had provided rich entertainment for the passionate home crowd with a superb innings of 51 from 38 balls that included two sixes and five other boundaries. The 19-year-old was playing in only his fourth Twenty20 match but drove and carved with authority.He featured in the substantial partnership of the innings as he and Ingram added 56 in 7.1 overs for the third wicket. Ingram contributed 26 before he became one of two wickets for Bopara.The departure of Donald in the 14th over, when he was bowled by left-arm spinner Ashar Zaidi, left Glamorgan 105 for 4 but they lost their way thereafter.The Essex attack restricted them to 20 runs from the next five overs before Pakistan international Wahab Riaz sent down a final over costing 15 runs including a towering straight driven 6 by Chris Cooke. However it all proved too little too late in the face of the Essex batting onslaught.

South Africa’s only men’s home international series this summer, against West Indies, has been reduced from five T20Is to three because of a clash with the T20 World Cup.As reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, the matches, which were originally scheduled between January 27 and February 6, now have to end by January 31 when the T20 World Cup support period begins. As a result, two matches have been culled from the fixtures’ list.The biggest casualties of the change are Newlands in Cape Town and Buffalo Park in East London, who will no longer host matches. The three games will be played at Boland Park in Paarl, SuperSport Park in Centurion and the Wanderers in Johannesburg on January 27, 29 and 31 respectively. With no ODI cricket at home this season, the final T20I will become “Pink Day” – an annual occasion in which the South African men’s team wears pink and raises funds and awareness for breast cancer treatment.”While we are disappointed that Newlands Cricket Ground will no longer host a Proteas versus West Indies fixture as originally planned, we understand the need to accommodate the ICC’s updated tournament calendar and the associated support period for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026,” Western Province said in a statement on Wednesday*.”Newlands has a proud tradition of hosting world-class international cricket, and we remain committed to providing a premier venue experience for players, fans, and stakeholders. WPCA will continue to engage proactively with CSA to ensure future opportunities for international content in Cape Town.”South Africa have also added three Under-19 one-dayers against India, to be played between January 3 and 7 at Willowmoore Park in Benoni as preparation for the Under-19 World Cup. That tournament is being co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia from mid-January, with fixtures yet to be released.The current world Test champions have a curtailed home summer partly because they are playing abroad until December 19. They begin their WTC title defence in Pakistan next month, along with three ODIs and three T20Is. That will be followed by an all-format tour to India, which consists of two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.The other reason for the lack of home fixtures is that venues around the country are being prepared for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and drop-in surfaces are being developed around the country.The home season will be headlined by the SA20, which starts on Boxing Day and continues throughout the festive season.

Ben Geddes and Luke Hollman hit career-bests as Middlesex raced to a six-wicket win over strugglers Kent at Radlett to keep their hopes of a place in the Metro Bank Cup’s knockout stages alive.Geddes led the way with an unbeaten 141, his first century in List A cricket, while Hollman made his maiden half-century in the format, the pair sharing a record unbroken stand of 195 for the fifth wicket as the hosts chased down a target of 280 with five overs to spare.Kent’s 279 for 6 was built around an unbeaten 63 for Jack Leaning and 50 for Chris Benjamin, with Leaning sharing a stand of 81 in nine overs with debutant Corey Flintoff, son of former England allrounder Andrew, who impressed with an unbeaten 29. Henry Brookes and Middlesex List A debutant Sebastian Morgan took three wickets apiece.England Under-19 international Ben Dawkins took three fours from one Noah Cornwell over and ramped Toby Roland-Jones over wicketkeeper Joe Cracknell’s head to dominate an opening stand of 52 with Jaydn Denly. The latter struggled for any fluency, his torturous effort ending when he cut Brookes to backward point. Dawkins took his boundary count to eight only to fall two short of 50 when caught by Cracknell, giving Morgan his first wicket.Benjamin and Joey Evison upped the tempo in a stand of 47 before Morgan pegged back the latter’s off stump and a chance for a fourth wicket was spurned when Brookes dropped Benjamin on 33.File photo: Luke Hollman shared an unbroken stand of 195 with Geddes•Getty Images

Benjamin profited from the life, flaying Morgan over third and crunching a seventh four through the covers to reach 50, but he fell immediately afterwards to Brookes, ending a stand of 58 with Harry Finch. Brookes struck again two balls later to remove Ekansh Singh, superbly caught by Sam Robson, and when Finch became Morgan’s third victim Kent were 198 for 6.However, Leaning and Flintoff launched their late charge, Flintoff evoking memories of his father’s batting heroics with two huge sixes, while Leaning’s beautifully paced effort was capped by clearing the ropes twice in the final over as Kent posted a daunting target.The host’s chase got off to a bad start when Cracknell was caught down the legside without scoring. Robson was then dropped at short fine leg by Michael Cohen, but later in the same Fred Klaassen over, Josh de Caires attempted an injudicious hook to sky a simple catch to Flintoff at midwicket.Robson’s response was to unleash a flurry of boundaries, the former England opener cutting and pulling with authority and with Geddes launching a huge six into the trees a 50-stand came up in 40 balls. Evison though wrestled back control by having Robson caught behind and though Davies planted a six over square leg, he didn’t stay long.Geddes continued to carry the fight, reaching his 50 with his second six, a blow which endangered those on the 4.45pm train to St Albans City. Cohen was similarly despatched into the trees and Hollman swept Matt Parkinson to the fence as the partnership prospered.Both batters were dropped, before Geddes moved to his hundred and Hollman to 50 with the help of a towering six. Landmarks reached, the pair cut loose to scamper home with time to spare.

Harry Brook will captain England for the first time during their five-match ODI series against Australia, with Jos Buttler ruled out for the rest of the summer with a calf injury sustained in July. Buttler’s injury has also given a lifeline to Liam Livingstone, who has been recalled to the 50-over side after initially being left out.Brook has been groomed as a future England captain for many years, having captained at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. He deputised as Yorkshire captain for four matches in the T20 Blast in 2022 and led Northern Superchargers in the Hundred this year, winning five out of the six completed matches he oversaw as they narrowly missed out on the knockout stages.Related

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• Brook wears deputy tag lightly but greater responsibility beckons

He was also Ollie Pope’s vice-captain throughout England’s recent 2-1 Test series win over Sri Lanka, with the team’s management keen to develop long-term leadership options. Phil Salt has captained in the ongoing T20I series, which is level at 1-1 ahead of Sunday afternoon’s rain-threatened decider in Manchester.”It’s going to be a great opportunity for Brooky to be the captain,” Buttler said. “He is a pretty laid-back character, but I think he has everything in line. He is a really good thinker about it… I’m sure he’ll do that his own way, and he’ll get a feel for those moments [in games]. That’s what we’re encouraging everyone as a side – whether that’s a player or a captain – is to try and identify those moments that you think can go a long way to you winning the game and going for it and committing to it.”But Buttler’s prolonged absence is cause for concern, given his recent history of calf issues. He missed most of a series against Sri Lanka in 2021 due to a tear, and was ruled out of England’s seven-match T20I tour to Pakistan the following year with a strain which briefly threatened his participation in the 2022 World Cup.Brook led Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred this summer•PA Photos/Getty Images

He has not played any cricket since England’s elimination from June’s T20 World Cup, when they were beaten by India in the semi-finals: he initially targeted a return in the T20 Blast quarter-finals, but suffered a setback in his rehabilitation while running. Buttler has been with England’s squad throughout this week’s T20I series against Australia and will target a return on November’s Caribbean tour.”It’s a bit slower than hoped,” Buttler said of his recovery. “I’m going to be missing the ODI series as well, so that’s a shame. But at my age, just got to make sure I get it right. It’s obviously a shame to miss some cricket and stuff, but I just want to get it right. There’s lots to look forward to in the future.”Injuries force you to stop and take a different perspective and it’s nice to be around the guys, getting to know some new faces and seeing what they’re all about; trying to share my ideas and listen to theirs and how they operate and building those relationships, which are obviously really important.”Buttler also confirmed that he would not have kept wicket if he had been fit for the T20Is, after discussions with England’s incoming coach Brendon McCullum. “Having spoken to Baz about it, he stumbled across it with injury preventing him from keeping wicket, but then he really enjoyed being next to the bowler at mid-off,” Buttler explained.”I’ll see how the calf holds up to running around in the outfield, or we might have a slip in for a long time,” he joked. “But, yeah, I’m very open to those kind of things. I just want what’s best for the team: what’s best for the team is going to be me being the best captain I can be, and if I have to move from behind the wickets to do that then so be it.”Livingstone’s return to the squad comes after his impressive performances in the first two T20Is. He has taken five wickets in six overs with his leg breaks and hit 87 off 47 to win Friday night’s game in Cardiff. He admitted on Wednesday night that he was nonplussed by his initial absence from the ODI squad, after top-scoring in England’s defeat at the Utilita Bowl.England have also confirmed that Josh Hull will play no part in the ODI series, after sustaining a minor quad injury on Test debut at The Oval last week. A team spokesperson suggested that his absence is only precautionary, and that his participation in October’s three-match Test tour to Pakistan is not under threat.The five-match ODI series starts at Trent Bridge on Thursday and runs until September 29.England ODI squad: Harry Brook (capt), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, John Turner.