- England captain Jos Buttler is set to make his return from injury on Saturday
- However, Phil Salt has been informed he will keep the gloves for the T20 series
Jos Buttler is set for a watershed moment in his England captaincy after it was confirmed that Phil Salt will keep wicket during the upcoming Twenty20 series against West Indies.
Buttler, 34, has been behind the stumps for 106 of his most recent 108 T20 international appearances and taken the wicketkeeper-batsman role in all of the 39 one-day internationals in which he has been captain.
However, he spent his first day on this tour on Monday doing extensive fielding drills in an optional training session at the Kensington Oval, after which Salt revealed he’d been told he would be retaining the gloves post one-day series.
Buttler missed the three 50-over matches here following a second setback to a calf injury that has kept him sidelined since the T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by India here in the Caribbean in June.
He had initially been hoping to return against Australia in September, and was mulling over whether to play as a specialist batter for those fixtures – in his absence Salt kept in the 1-1 T20 draw and Jamie Smith came in for the ODIs.
Jos Buttler is expected to make his long-awaited return from injury for England on Saturday
But the England captain will not take his familiar position with the gloves against West Indies
Brendon McCullum, who will be in charge for England’s next white-ball tour in India in the new year, recently claimed he got a better perspective of games from the inner fielding circle when he was in charge of New Zealand.
‘If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to,’ Buttler said, after he was ruled out of the Australia series.
Buttler has relinquished the gloves just twice since succeeding Eoin Morgan as white-ball leader two-and-a-half years ago: last December during a 3-2 T20 defeat.
Salt deputised on that tour in what was viewed as an experimental measure, but appears to have been lined up for a more permanent role after being pulled aside for a chat by acting head coach Marcus Trescothick last weekend.
‘It’s not something I’ve done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping and feel like that’s where I offer most to the side,’ Salt said.
‘The question I got a lot in the summer when I captained was “does it take away from what you do?” I don’t think it does in any way. I think that is the best place to see the game from at all times.
‘If anything, it’s maybe a slight advantage being behind the stumps making those judgments.’
Instead, Phil Salt has been informed that he will retain his position as England wicketkeeper
Buttler concurred with those thoughts back in May when endorsing his triple role pre-World Cup, saying: ‘I feel like I’ve got the best view. I can see exactly what’s happening and I can make calls.’
But, having survived a white-ball summer review that cost Matthew Mott his job, he has embraced further change and, fitness permitting, will direct the traffic from mid-off in Bridgetown on Saturday.
Before that five-match campaign begins, England will attempt to complete a comeback one-day win here on Wednesday, having levelled at 1-1 courtesy of stand-in captain Liam Livingstone’s coming of age, unbeaten hundred in Antigua.
England have multiple wicketkeeping options in what is now a 17-man squad, and one of them, Essex’s Michael Pepper, who was called up to cover the absence of the injured Buttler for the first week of the tour will remain here for the T20s.
