Jos Buttler Ruled Out Of Oval Decider As Dan Lawrence Is Called Up

England will go into Sunday's ODI decider without Jos Buttler. They named Dan Lawrence in the squad on Friday night, with Jos Buttler ruled out of the third match against Sri Lanka at the Oval. The hamstring injury came at Headingley on Thursday. Lawrence has never played a white-ball international. The series is level at 1-1.

Retired hurt at Headingley

Buttler was in the middle of England's chase when it happened. He retired hurt in the 38th over with England 254 for 4. He came back out in the 48th. He was dismissed shortly afterwards for 69, and Sri Lanka won by 16 runs to square the series.

An ECB spokesperson said: "Jos Buttler has been ruled out due to the hamstring injury he suffered in the second Metro Bank ODI at Headingley last night and will undergo further assessment."

No timeline was attached to that assessment. England said nothing about the rest of his season.

Lawrence called in from Surrey

Lawrence has played Test cricket for England. His white-ball international record is blank. He was named in an ODI squad against Pakistan in 2021 as isolation cover and did not play. Five years on, the call has come again.

CricTracker reported six first-class centuries for him this season, and three half centuries in four innings during England's recent Test series win over Pakistan. The same outlet put his last List A appearance in May 2019. England appointed Kevin Pietersen as a specialist mentor to their white-ball teams earlier this month.

Cox set to take the gloves

The gloves are the other question. Jordan Cox is expected to keep at the Oval, ahead of Tom Banton, according to CricTracker and Geo Super. England have not named an XI.

Surrey lose him for the final round

The timing is awkward for Surrey. Sky Sports reported that Lawrence was withdrawn from their County Championship match against Somerset to join England, and will train at the Oval on Saturday. That fixture falls in the final round of the county season, which ends on 27 September.

The Oval decider

• First ODI, Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, 22 September: England won
• Second ODI, Headingley, 24 September: Sri Lanka won by 16 runs
• Third ODI, The Oval, 27 September: series decider, 10.30am first ball

ESPNcricinfo reported that Will Jacks took five wickets for 22 runs as England defended 265 in the opener. Sri Lanka were then fined 15 per cent of their match fee for a slow over-rate in that match, three overs short after allowances. Kusal Mendis accepted the sanction. Jeff Crowe was the match referee.

Two days later Sri Lanka squared it at Headingley. The Oval settles the series.