With Jos Buttler ruled out Harry Brook to captain England for Australia ODIs
For the first time during their five-match ODI series against Australia Harry Brook will captain England as Jos Buttler ruled out for the rest of the summer with a calf injury sustained in July. After initially being left out injury of Buttler has also given a lifeline to Liam Livingstone, who has been recalled to the 50-over side.
For many years Brook has been groomed as a future England captain. He had captained at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. 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.
But the prolonged absence of Buttler is the reason 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.