Brook to captain England in ODIs against Australia after Buttler ruled out; Livingstone comes back

New Delhi, Sep 15 : Middle-order batter Harry Brook will captain England in the upcoming One-day Series against Australia after regular skipper Jos Buttler was ruled out due to his ongoing recovery from a right calf injury.

Buttler has been nursing a calf injury which he picked while preparing for The Hundred, leading to him missing the tournament as well as the ongoing T20I series against Australia, with wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt being England’s stand-in captain.

Buttler was originally named in England’s ODI squad but has now been ruled out of it after his recovery from calf injury being slower than expected timelines. His last appearance for England came in the T20 World Cup semifinal against India, which they lost in Guyana on June 27.

The series against Australia will be the first time Brook, who has played 15 ODIs, will captain England in international cricket. Brook, 25, was the vice-captain during England’s Test series against Sri Lanka when Ollie Pope became the stand-in skipper in the absence of injured Ben Stokes.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also said left-arm pacer Josh Hull, who made his Test debut in the third game against Sri Lanka, is also sidelined from the ODI series due to a quad injury. Hull has been named in England’s squad for the three-Test tour of Pakistan, starting in October.

All-rounder Liam Livingstone has been brought into the squad for the five-match ODI series which begins at Trent Bridge on September 19, followed by games in Trent Bridge, Headingly, Lord’s, and Chester-Le-Street.

Livingstone, initially left out of the ODI squad, had an outstanding run in the first two T20I games against Australia, especially after making a superb 87 in the series-levelling win at Cardiff.

England squad for Australia ODIs:

Harry Brook (c), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner and Olly Stone.