A persistent calf injury kept the England captain out of The Hundred, Australia’s tour of England and the West Indies ODIs. He returned in the first T20I at Barbados, but handed the gloves over to Phil Salt. Since October 2012, Buttler has only played as an outfielder in two T20Is: both in Trinidad against West Indies in December 2023.

He explained that the move was not related to his calf injury, but an experiment to see if it aids his captaincy. Buttler revealed he was planning to play as an outfielder in the Australia T20Is, had he been fit. “I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt,” he said. “If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to.”

It is not yet decided if Salt will continue in the role beyond this series. “We’ve not had that chat about anything going forward. I’m just glad to be doing it at the moment,” he said. Buttler showed his worth in the field in the first T20I, taking two excellent catches. The first as a one-handed snaffle at slip off Adil Rashid, while the second, a leaping catch at cover, saw off Nicholas Pooran.

The move down to No.3, a position Buttler has batted at just once during his T20I career and just 14 times in all T20 cricket, has less to do with his workload and more to do with maximising an at-times misfiring England batting line-up. It will also help plug a hole England have struggled to fill since moving on from Dawid Malan following the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

England have tried all of Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Jordan Cox at first drop in T20Is in 2024, with no half-centuries from the position. As with many T20 batters, Jacks prefers opening, averaging 30 and striking at 160 when doing so. Buttler also has an exceptional record as an opener, with great debate once had over whether England were better off maximising his worth by asking him to face the new ball, or using him in a role they had no one else to fill by playing him as a finisher.

Buttler is not quite as explosive as Salt or Jacks, but more than makes up for that with his consistency and all-round play. By putting him at No.3, the hope is that Buttler can still define games while giving the openers the chance to play with freedom, and fill a job England need filling in the process.

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