Jos Buttler is expected to miss England’s third T20 match against Pakistan at Sophia Gardens on Tuesday after returning home to be with his wife following the birth of their third child. Coach Moeen Ali will be in charge of a much-changed team if the predicted storm clouds clear in time for the match to go ahead as scheduled.
England selected what was likely their strongest line-up for Saturday’s game at Edgbaston, which they won by 23 runs, but with the first match at Headingley being rained out, they are likely to use most of the players who sat out the Birmingham match for the third game of the series. That will also allow them to rest Jofra Archer, who took two wickets on Saturday in his first international match in more than 14 months.
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England vs Pakistan match candidates
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England Phil Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (c), Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood.
Pakistan Mohammed Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Assam Khan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammed Amir, Haris Rauf.
Archer took part in training on Monday but was not at full strength. He is expected to return to the squad for the series finale at The Oval on Thursday. “He’s going to be massive for us,” captain Will Jacks said.
“It’s great for all the England fans and for cricket fans around the world too. Everybody wants to see him bowl. He bowls good pace in the nets, he bowls good pace at middle and he bowls the york ball well at the death. He’s a massive asset.”
Buttler was named man of the match after scoring 84 off 51 balls at Birmingham but was withdrawn from the group ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cardiff. Management have not ruled him out for Tuesday’s match but his return may be difficult with heavy rain predicted throughout the day. The clouds are expected to clear in the evening and, if the match becomes possible, Tom Hartley is likely to make his international T20 debut, with Sam Curran and Mark Wood also in the squad.
Buttler’s absence has forced changes at the top of the batting order, with Bairstow, Jacks and Ben Duckett filling in as openers alongside Phil Salt. Jacks has the advantage of having formed a successful opening duo with Salt for Pretoria Capitals in SA20 in South Africa, but may prefer to continue settling into the relatively unfamiliar No. 3 role.
“Me and Phil have played a lot of cricket together so that will definitely help us playing for England,” Jacks said. “We understand each other’s game really well and we’re both top-order batsmen with that kind of freedom that everyone has nowadays.
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Jacks has spent most of his T20 career as an opener but has featured at first drop in his last seven international matches, including his successful spell with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. “I’ve kind of proven to myself that I can do it at No. 3,” he said. “Every time I bat there now I’m gaining experience, learning something new and adding to my repertoire of what I can do. It’s my first time batting at No. 3 and I’m learning on the job. I’d like to think I’ve improved.”
