Phil Salt has been named as the wicketkeeper for the T20I series on the England tour of West Indies 2024. If he takes over the wicketkeeping duties, it is evident that Buttler will placed on the field.
White ball captain Jos Buttler who has played 108 T20 internationals has kept wickets in 106 matches fielding only in the two matches that took place in Trinidad during England’s previous tour of the Caribbean in December 2023.
Salt has kept wickets in 13 of his 59 games for England across formats and has been given the gloves in this current ODI series ahead of Jordan Cox, who will be keeping wickets in Test keepers for the upcoming series in New Zealand.
“It’s not something I’ve done a lot for England recently,” Salt said in Barbados ahead of the third ODI. “But I enjoy keeping. I feel like that’s where I offer most to the side.”
Meanwhile, Buttler has been out for several months due to calf strain. But if he had been fit to play the T20 series against Australia in September, Salt would have kept wickets with Buttler having been fielded in different positions.
“I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to,” said Buttler.
Buttler arrived in the Caribbean region on Sunday and started training at Kensington Oval on Monday.
Look who’s arrived in Barbados 👀 ✈️
Great to have you here, @josbuttler 🙌
🌴 #WIvENG 🏴 | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/5LwSNyO2He
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 4, 2024
He is not available for selection for the deciding ODI match and will resume his duties ahead of the five-match T20I series that starts on Saturday, making his first appearance since England’s defeat in the T20 World Cup semifinals in June.
“We’ve not had that chat about anything going forward. I’m just glad to be doing it at the moment,” said Salt.
Salt made scores 18 and 59 in the first two ODIs and helped England secure victory in the second match to level the series.
After England had been bowled out for 209 in the first match, Liam Livingstone has been criticised for his performance.
“When anybody’s at their best they’re aggressive and smart,” he said. “They go hand in hand – they have to if you’re going to have any success in white-ball cricket.
“I know I could have got more runs. I think for myself it’s how do I drop the strike rate and pump the average… prolonging my innings and extending partnerships. Those are two of the most important things in 50-over cricket.”
Salt’s first experience of 50 over cricket since the tour of the Caribbean in December last year. With the Hundred being played at the same time as the One-day Cup during the England summer.
“I don’t think there’s many players in this team that you could go through and go ‘oh they’re doing a great job right now’. That’s the reality of it because we’ve not played a lot of 50-over cricket.
“I’d love something like a domestic 50-over competition. I’d love the opportunity to play in that so you can get the rhythm and it’s not always stop-start. But that’s what we’ve got. As a player, you’ve got to adapt.”
The T20I series is set to begin on November 10 following the completion of the decider ODI on November 06 at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
