Liam Livingstone will captain England in their upcoming ODI series in the West Indies as Jos Buttler misses out due to injury.
Essex wicketkeeper-bat Michael Pepper has received his first England call-up to replace Buttler after averaging 44.58 in the most recent Blast.
Buttler is expected to return ahead of the five-match T20 series which begins on Saturday 9 November, but he will miss the three ODI games beginning in Antigua next Wednesday.
England’s white-ball captain also missed the recent series against Australia, which the hosts lost 3-2 under Harry Brook’s leadership, due to a calf tear.
He was initially named in the squad for both series, but a setback in his recovery means he certainly won’t play the first three matches.
As a result, Buttler will not have played an ODI for an entire year by the time he leads the squad in a three-match series in India next January ahead of the Champions Trophy.
In a period of regeneration for the 50-over side, this is less than ideal, especially considering he came under serious pressure after the T20 World Cup exit.
Brook misses out in the Caribbean as he is involved in Test series in Pakistan and New Zealand – England have named a relatively young squad in absence of some high-profile stars.
There will be three debutants on the tour in Pepper, 22-year-old Yorkshire spinner Jafer Chohan and Warwickshire’s Dan Mousley, who spent time in the international set-up this summer but did not feature.
This will be the first time Livingstone captains England, with Phil Salt the only other player named who has previously led their nation at senior level.
Salt captained during the T20 series against Australia but is not as established in the ODI side, so the armband may well be considered too great a responsibility.
England have also vowed to add two further players from the squad in Pakistan, with one of these highly likely to be Essex’s wicketkeeper-bat Jordan Cox.
Captaincy provides Livingstone another vital opportunity to rehabilitate his image after a long period of international underperformance, building on two eye-catching performances earlier this summer in Cardiff and at Lord’s.
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