London: Jos Buttler is set to fly home from England’s tour of Australia, after sustaining a broken finger that hampered his performance in the drawn fourth Test at Sydney. Buttler suffered the injury while keeping on the second day at the SCG, and struggled to grip the bat while making a duck in England’s first innings. He was replaced behind the stumps by Ollie Pope, who equalled the record for a substitute fielder with four catches in Australia’s second innings.
Buttler fronted up for England’s rearguard on the final day however, making 11 from 38 balls before being trapped lbw by Pat Cummins, armed with the new ball. “Jos Buttler is going to be going home, it’s quite a bad injury,” Joe Root, England’s captain, said at the post-match presentations.
“It’s a real disappointing shame for him and for the team. But it’s part and parcel of playing Test cricket. Sometimes you’ve got to take these things, but the way he stood up throughout the rest of the game, having taken that, and put in for the boys is a testament to his character and how much he cares about playing for this team.
” The injury nevertheless completes a desperate campaign for Buttler, who made 107 runs at 15.28 across the four Tests, with his most significant contribution being an innings of 26 from 207 balls in England’s failed attempt to save the second Test at Adelaide.In addition to his poor form with the bat, Buttler endured an erratic series behind the stumps, with a number of crucial dropped catches, in particular off Australia’s centurion MarnusLabuschagne in that Adelaide Test.
The ECB confirmed that Buttler will fly back to the UK on Monday and will be assessed on his return by the ECB Medical Team. A further update is expected later this week on his rehabilitation period. With Jonny Bairstow nursing an impact injury to his right thumb, albeit he was able to bat for a further two-and-a-half hours in the second innings at Sydney.
