London, Sep 25 — England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the deciding third ODI against Sri Lanka, to be played at The Oval on Sunday, after suffering a left hamstring injury during the second match at Headingley.
Right-handed batter Dan Lawrence, who was midway through a County Championship match for Surrey against Somerset, has been pulled out of domestic duty and drafted into the squad as cover for the series finale. Lawrence is set to link up with the national squad for training at The Oval on Saturday morning.
"Surrey batter Dan Lawrence has been called into the England Men's squad for Sunday's third Metro Bank ODI against Sri Lanka. 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," an ECB spokesperson said in an official statement on Friday.
The injury to Buttler occurred in the 38th over of England's run chase on Thursday when he pulled up while running between the wickets. Despite receiving immediate attention on the field, the 36-year-old was forced to retire hurt on 67.
He hobbled back to the crease in the 48th over in a desperate bid to haul England across the line and added two more runs to finish on 69, his highest ODI score in three years, before holing out. Buttler's late effort was in vain as Sri Lanka held their nerve to secure a 16-run victory and level the three-match series 1-1.
The hamstring issue adds to a frustrating history of soft-tissue setbacks for the veteran, who previously missed time during the 2024 IPL season with a similar leg injury. In Buttler's absence, Jordan Cox is tipped to take over the wicketkeeping duties and earn his fourth ODI cap on Sunday.
Lawrence struck a century for Surrey on Thursday and recently hit three fifties in England's Test series win over Pakistan, and is uncapped in ODIs. He previously earned an ODI call-up against Pakistan in 2021 during a Covid-19 outbreak in the English camp, but is yet to make his white-ball debut. Lawrence has played only 28 List A matches, the last of which came in May 2019.