Jos Buttler Ruled Out Of Australia Tour After Hamstring Surgery

Jos Buttler, ruled out of England's white-ball tour of Australia, has had surgery on his left hamstring. The former white-ball captain posted a photograph from a hospital bed on Monday. He also misses the tri-series in Pakistan, which runs from 18 to 31 October. England name their Australia squads on Tuesday.

The injury dates to the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at Headingley last month. Buttler retired hurt in that innings. ESPNcricinfo reported that he now faces a lengthy lay-off.

The Headingley injury and the operation

Sky Sports reported that Buttler had made 69 from 49 balls before he pulled up. The hamstring did not settle. Surgery followed. He announced it himself. "Successful surgery and on the road to recovery. Feeling more motivated than ever!" he wrote on Instagram.

The sequence has run one step at a time since Headingley. ESPNcricinfo had already reported him out of the Pakistan tour and a doubt for Australia before any operation was confirmed. The surgery settles the second half of that. England now plan the rest of the year without him.

Fixtures missed from October to December

Three separate blocks of cricket disappear from his autumn.

• The tri-series in Pakistan, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, from 18 to 31 October
• Three one-day internationals in Australia, starting in Perth on 13 November
• Five Twenty20 internationals in Australia, finishing in Canberra on 2 December

That is eight matches in Australia across the two white-ball formats. England's selectors were due to name both squads on Tuesday, a day after the surgery was made public. The Perth opener is just over four weeks away.

Durban's Super Giants and the SA20 window

Buttler is contracted to Durban's Super Giants for the SA20. Sky Sports listed that tournament, which begins in January, as his next scheduled cricket. Crictoday described his participation there as uncertain. Nothing in either report fixes a return date.

That leaves a gap of roughly three months between the operation and the first cricket he is pencilled in for. The Australia leg finishes on 2 December. The SA20 starts the following month. Whether he is fit for the opening rounds of it is the next question his recovery answers.

A contract running to September 2027

The ECB published its central contract list on Monday, the same day the surgery became public. Buttler was given one more year. His deal now runs to 30 September next year. That stops short of the 2027 World Cup.

Rob Key was asked about the mismatch. "We don't see it that Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid aren't going to be a part of that World Cup," the ECB chief executive said. He added that both were "very much factored in." Crictoday reported the remarks.