Lahore: England’s limited-overs coach Matthew Mott said Jos Buttler is itching to make his return from injury during their seven-match series in Pakistan but they will not take any risks with the batsman so close to the Twenty20 World Cup.
Buttler has not played in the series so far as he recovers from a calf injury he sustained while playing in The Hundred, with the team being led by Moeen Ali.
The T20 World Cup takes place in Australia from Oct 16-Nov 13.
“With regard to Jos (Buttler), he’s still a while off, he’s not a player we want to take a risk on at this stage, so close to the World Cup, and it was a reasonably significant injury that he had,” Mott told reporters.
“So, he’s champing at the bit for a game, but we’ll just try and see how we go and maybe in the last game or two we might give him a chance.”
The series is level at 2-2 with the fifth game scheduled for Lahore tomorrow.
“We couldn’t ask for better preparation than games like tonight (Sunday) where it’s all on the line with a couple of overs to go and players are under pressure.
“To play in high-pressure situations in front of a big crowd that was right into the game [is great].
“Yes, we would love to have won, but I think when you head into a World Cup, you want to play against good opposition in tough games and it’s been every bit of that.”
Jos Buttler
