Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England’s third and deciding ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval on September 27, 2026, after sustaining a left hamstring injury while running between wickets during the second ODI at Headingley on September 24. Dan Lawrence has been called up to the squad as cover, while Jordan Cox is expected to take the gloves in Buttler’s absence.

Buttler scored 69 in the Headingley match, his highest ODI score in three years, before pulling up with the injury. He received treatment from England physio Steve Haw, faced two more deliveries and briefly returned to the crease before holing out. England went on to lose that match by 16 runs, leaving the three-match series level at 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s decider.

England will have more information on the extent of Buttler’s injury early next week following an MRI scan. The 36-year-old has a history of soft-tissue problems in recent years, including a similar left hamstring issue during the 2024 IPL season.

Why has Dan Lawrence been added to the squad?

Lawrence, who is yet to win an international cap in either white-ball format, was withdrawn from Surrey’s County Championship match at Somerset after scoring his sixth hundred of the season on September 24. He is set to train with the ODI squad at The Oval on Saturday ahead of the decider.

Lawrence has been in strong red-ball form this year and made three half-centuries in four innings during England’s recent Test series win over Pakistan. He was previously called up to England’s ODI squad to face Pakistan in 2021 during a Covid isolation period but did not play. His List A experience is limited, with his most recent appearance in that format coming in May 2019 across 28 games in total.

What does Buttler’s absence mean for England’s wicketkeeping plans?

Cox is expected to step in behind the stumps at The Oval, with the match likely to be only his fourth ODI cap. He is preferred ahead of Tom Banton for the keeping role in this fixture. England captain Harry Brook’s side will be looking to seal the series against a Sri Lanka team led by Kusal Mendis.

Also Read: ‘We have to focus on the next game and do the basics right’ – Kusal Mendis eyes series decider after stunning Headingley ton

England’s new white-ball mentor Kevin Pietersen said that opportunities that arise after player injuries will give the Three Lions a chance to add depth to their squad heading into next year’s ODI World Cup.

“[We need to] have certain players in certain positions, in order for us to know that if something like this happens to Jos in, say, the final round of whatever game in South Africa, and you’ve got to go and play a quarter-final, that somebody can step up into Jos’s boots – like we’re going to need to have on Sunday,” Kevin Pietersen was quoted as saying by ESPN.

South Africa defeated Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI of the Australia in South Africa 2026-27 series at Kingsmead, Durban. The hosts, playing without Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka, produced a complete team performance to open their home international summer with a commanding victory.

Matthew Breetzke, who became the leading run-scorer in ODI cricket after 14 innings, struck the second century of his career to anchor the South Africa innings. Marco Jansen equalled his career-best score of 75 and took four catches, including a spectacular one-handed effort on the boundary. Left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin shared six wickets between them as Australia fell 67 runs short, losing their last nine wickets for 101.

How did South Africa build their total?

Australia chose to bowl first and had the measure of South Africa for the first two-thirds of the innings. Josh Hazlewood bowled a fuller length and proved difficult to get away, Nathan Ellis used wobble seam and slower balls effectively, and Adam Zampa took two wickets in his first four overs to keep the middle overs quiet.

The home side shuffled their batting order due to the absence of Aiden Markram for personal reasons, with Tony de Zorzi opening alongside Quinton de Kock. De Zorzi was dismissed for a seven-ball duck, and de Kock was caught behind off Ellis to leave South Africa at 29 for 2 in the eighth over. Temba Bavuma worked hard for a 48-ball 30 before being caught behind off a Zampa leg-break. Ryan Rickelton, batting at No. 5, the lowest position in his ODI career, showed promise before being caught by Matt Renshaw off Zampa.

David Miller struggled, managing only 9 off 24 balls before a leading-edge off Ellis ended his innings. South Africa were placed at 168 for 5 in the 34th over when Jansen arrived at the crease and joined Breetzke.

Jansen played aggressively from the start, hitting Mitchell Starc through midwicket and sending Zampa over long-on with a no-look six. He raced to 41 off 31 balls before eventually reaching his fifty. Breetzke, who was on 76 from 79 balls when Jansen came in, entered the 90s with a punch over point in the 43rd over and reached his hundred with a single in the next over.

Jansen reached fifty when he hit Starc to long-on, where Cooper Connolly attempted a sliding catch but could not hold on. South Africa entered the last five overs on 243 for 5, plundered 30 runs off the next two overs and also benefitted from Australia’s slow over-rate, which meant the visitors had to bowl the last two overs with a fielding penalty. The pair added 107 runs together to help South Africa get to 297/8.

How did South Africa dismiss Australia in the chase?

Set the second-highest successful chase at Kingsmead, Australia started at a rapid pace. Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head put on 90 inside 10 overs. Marsh was particularly severe on Jansen’s third over, which went for 17 runs, and reached his fifty off just 31 balls, bringing it up with a 104-metre six over the leg side. Head had less strike early, scoring 7 off 11 balls in that period, but accelerated when Corbin Bosch came on.

Keshav Maharaj was brought on to slow the chase and his first spell of four overs yielded 1 for 13. He dismissed Marsh, who drove to Breetzke at cover. Jansen returned in the 15th over and dismissed Head, who top-edged to deep third attempting to turn the ball to leg. Josh Inglis gloved a reverse-sweep to slip to give Fortuin his first wicket. Connolly then slog-swept Fortuin high to long-on, where David Miller took a sliding catch, and South Africa had clawed their way back into the contest.

Maharaj then had Cameron Green caught at long-on and Jack Edwards caught at slip. At that point, Australia were 188 for 6 and still needed 110 runs off 20.3 overs. Renshaw, on 31, and Starc took 14 runs off Jansen’s sixth over to bring the target into double figures. South Africa tightened their grip as Maharaj bowled a maiden, Jansen and Fortuin conceded just two runs in two overs, and Gerald Coetzee delivered another maiden filled with yorkers.

Also Read: ‘While he is not playing, I am pretty happy to captain Australia in ODIs’ – Mitchell Marsh on Pat Cummins’ absence in 1st ODI vs South Africa

The decisive moment came when Coetzee dropped short, Renshaw pulled, and Jansen took a one-handed catch on the rope with his right arm at full stretch and his fingers gripping the ball inches off the ground. Australia were 215 for 7 at that stage and needed 83 runs in 82 balls. Bosch picked up two wickets late in the innings, and Maharaj claimed the final wicket when Zampa slog-swept to Breetzke.

Maharaj was the pick of the bowlers for the Proteas, as he finished with remarkable figures of 4/20 in 9.2 overs, including two maidens.

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has highlighted mental strength as a defining factor for the team’s young batters ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scheduled from January 21 to March 3, 2027. The five-match series will be played across Nagpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Ranchi and Ahmedabad.

Australia’s bowling attack presents a significant challenge, featuring experienced campaigners Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. These bowlers bring extensive Test cricket experience against India’s young batting lineup. Gambhir acknowledged the challenge while emphasising what separates success from failure in the format.

“Looking forward to it. That is probably one thing which I’m absolutely looking forward to, because playing against Australia at home, and obviously it wasn’t the best when we went to Australia. And for me, I think it is going to be India versus Australia, but before that, it is New Zealand. But the other challenge against Australia will be their experienced bowling attack. They’ve got the likes of obviously Starc, Nathan Lyon, Cummins, and Hazlewood,” Gambhir said as quoted by NDTV Sports.

“Obviously they’ve got so much experience of playing Test cricket against our young batting lineup. So it’s going to be a great experience for these guys. More importantly, in Test cricket, it’s about the skill, but it’s about how mentally strong and how much pressure you can absorb. The more pressure you absorb, and the more pressure you embrace, it’s going to give yourself the best chance,” he added.

Preparation will give you results: Gambhir

Preparation time has emerged as a critical factor in India’s Test performance. During the recent tour of Sri Lanka, India secured more than 400 runs in both innings of both Test matches. The team arrived 10 days before the first Test match, allowing adequate preparation against spin bowling. This contrasted sharply with earlier series where preparation time was limited.

“But you could see that in Sri Lanka, we played two Test matches, and we got more than 400 runs in both the innings. And the reason was that we prepared extremely well. We went 10 days before the Test match, we could prepare playing spin, and then you could see the results as well. The thing is, I’m not going to give any excuses, but that’s the reality,” Gambhir said.

“When we played the Test series against South Africa, we were coming after playing a T20 series from Australia. And we had two days before the first Test match. I remember coming from Brisbane, and then we reached Calcutta. We had two practice sessions, and we were straightaway into the Test match against South Africa,” he added.

We need to plan for spin: Gambhir

The importance of early arrival and spin preparation was underscored by Gambhir’s analysis of the Sri Lanka tour. Playing in Sri Lanka’s conditions against experienced spinners required specific preparation. The improvement shown by India’s batters in scoring 400-plus runs in both innings of both Test matches demonstrated the value of adequate preparation time.

“When we went to Sri Lanka early, you could see the way guys played spin, because Sri Lanka isn’t easy conditions. In their own backyard, the weather, their spinners, their experienced spinners against our batting lineup. If you can get 400-plus in both the innings in both the Test matches, that just shows that there is a lot of improvement happening. So we will have to prepare well before New Zealand and before Australia, and obviously the focus is on spin, yes, that how well can we manage and how well can we negate spin,” Gambhir said.

Test cricket need to be divine: Gambhir

Young cricketers Devdutt Padikkal and Manav Suthar have been cited as examples of players who prioritise red-ball cricket. Gambhir emphasised the importance of the next generation valuing Test cricket in an era dominated by T20 cricket’s financial rewards and media attention. The development of young players through structured pathways has been crucial to their growth.

“Extremely important, because both of them are young, both of them are hungry, both of them value Test cricket. It is so important for the next generation who’s coming in to value Test cricket, because in today’s day and age, with so much of focus and so much of limelight and so much of monetary gains that are associated with T20 cricket, how we can keep Test cricket divine, and above the other two formats is going to be key. Also, how much value a young generation or the new guys coming in gives that red-ball cricket is going to be key. That’s why I said, a strong Test-cricketing nation is going to be a strong cricketing nation,” Gambhir said.

“When it comes to Manav and Dev, I think they value Test cricket, they’re disciplined, hungry, and prepare really well. And Manav, we’ve seen that I’ve got to give selectors and BCCI a lot of credit because the way they’ve handled Manav, for the amount of opportunities he’s got, the way he’s been groomed over such a long period of time, the amount of A tours he’s done and bowled in different conditions… So my belief is that the better we prepare, the better opportunity we have to deliver,” he concluded.