Jos Buttler replaces Matt Prior in England third Test squad to play India
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Version 0 of 1. Jos Buttler will replace Matt Prior behind the stumps in the third Test at Southampton but Alastair Cook will remain as England captain. Buttler will make his Test debut in the game beginning on Sunday after Prior decided to take a break from international cricket for the rest of the summer following England’s defeat at Lord’s. The 23-year-old Lancashire wicketkeeper has played 33 one-day internationals and 36 Twenty20 matches for England but this will be his first opportunity in the longer format. Simon Kerrigan misses out after England opted for a 13-man squad instead of the 14 they named at Lord’s. The national selector, James Whitaker, said: “The result of the second Investec Test at Lord’s was very disappointing. One or two of our players had encouraging performances. However, it is vital that the squad learns quickly and arrives in Southampton this week refreshed and ready to perform well in what will no doubt be another tough Test match. “Congratulations to Jos Buttler who comes into the squad following some very exciting limited-overs performances for England and a good record with Lancashire this season and fully deserves this opportunity. Matt Prior has contributed a huge amount to the England side over the years and should be proud of his record throughout his 79 Tests. He has decided to take time out of the game to work on his fitness and we will continue to follow his progress over the coming months.” Prior admitted that his international career may be over after he announced on Monday night that he was taking a break for the remainder of the summer because of fitness issues. The 32-year-old wicketkeeper said he had a series of physical problems which were hampering his performances and he expects to have an achilles operation during his rest from competitive action. “The decision I’ve made is that I’m unavailable for the rest of this series due to my fitness,” he said. “I’m not retiring or anything like that – I would still love to play for England and I still know what I can offer England – but right now I’m not physically able to be at the level I need to be in order to perform at my level. I’m not doing justice to myself and more importantly the team and that is what matters first and foremost. “I’ve had a combination of injuries that have had an impact. My achilles, everyone knows about and is an ongoing problem and my goal was to get it to a manageable place. I tore my quad before the first Test and my right hand has been beaten to a pulp, but the main issue is the achilles. Now we have the time, I want to be proactive about how we deal with it so I imagine that I’ll have an operation.” Full England squad for third Test Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Sam Robson (Middlesex), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire, wk), Ben Stokes (Durham), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Jimmy Anderson (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) |