Livingstone to captain England in ODIs against WI as Buttler sits out due to calf injury

Liam Livingstone. Pic/AFP

Big-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone has been named as England's captain in their upcoming ODI series against the West Indies as regular skipper Jos Buttler misses out due to a slight setback in rehabilitation from a calf injury.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said a replacement player, in place of Buttler, is yet to be decided for the three-match ODI series starting in Antigua on October 31. The England squad flies out to the Caribbean early next week and Buttler is to join up in Barbados ahead of the five-match T20I series starting on November 9.

Buttler, who's suffered his third calf injury since 2021, has not played competitive cricket since the defeat in the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup semifinal against India at Guyana in June, after having missed the Hundred for Manchester Originals and September's white-ball series against Australia at home due to a tear in his calf.

With no Harry Brook, who captained England in white-ball matches against Australia and Ben Duckett for the tour of the Caribbean due to their involvement on an ongoing Test tour of Pakistan, Livingstone, 31, gets his first chance of captaining the side in international cricket, and will work with interim head coach Marcus Trescothick.

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Livingstone, a member of England's 2022 T20 World Cup-winning squad, has captained Lancashire in the T20 Blast and Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. The ECB has also said it would add two more players from the ongoing Test tour to Pakistan to its Caribbean trip.

England squad:
Jos Buttler (captain - T20 series only), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone (captain - ODI series only), Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and John Turner.

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