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Jos Buttler, who missed Manchester Originals’ opening three games, is out of the Hundred due to a calf issue.
Managing director Rob Key has endorsed Buttler to stay as England’s white-ball captain. He took a brief hiatus from the game following the T20 World Cup and is said to have suffered the injury while getting ready for the Hundred. His withdrawal was officially announced on Saturday, although an early scan that was inconclusive gave rise to expectations that he would be ready near the end of the competition.
Earlier this week, Key said that Buttler would remain captain following Matthew Mott’s dismissal as England’s white-ball coach. Marcus Trescothick will take over as captain in the September series against Australia. At this point, it seems likely that he will be well enough to play on September 11 for the first T20I.
“Gutted to be missing the Hundred this year,” Buttler wrote on his Instagram story. “Best of luck to the Manchester Originals for the rest of the campaign. Working hard to be 100% fit asap [as soon as possible].”
Buttler has experienced a number of calf strains in recent times, most notably one that prevented him from playing in England’s seven Twenty20 Internationals in Pakistan two years ago and momentarily jeopardised his chances of playing in the T20 World Cup in 2022.
In Buttler’s absence, the Originals, who were losing finalists in the previous two men’s Hundred events, have not won this year. Their batting line-up has appeared particularly weak at the beginning of the season, and his opening partner Phil Salt, who has taken over as captain, has only managed 23 runs in three innings.
The coach of the Originals, Simon Katich, had originally planned to replace Buttler with Keaton Jennings, the captain of Lancashire’s team, but negotiations broke down due to uncertainty about Buttler’s position, and Jennings has since joined London Spirit. Prior to their game against the Northern Superchargers on Sunday, the Originals had not yet announced a new replacement.