World Cup 2019 Preview: Jos Buttler In Focus As England Take On West Indies

Jos Buttler, who scored a World Cup 2019 hundred against Pakistan, is expected to regain complete fitness before England's fourth league stage match at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Thursday. England head coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed the availability of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who suffered a hip injury while batting in England's win against Bangladesh on Saturday. "Yes, he's fine. He'll be taking part in today's practice fully," Trevor Bayliss said as quoted by AFP.

"It was a little bit precautionary the other day. He said he could have kept, but he wasn't really sure if he would be able to run after a high catch," he added.

Hosts England have started their bid to clinch a maiden World Cup on a positive note. They defeated South Africa by 104 runs in opener, before going down against Pakistan by a margin of 14 runs.

The Eoin Morgan-led side then bounced back with a comprehensive 106-run win over Bangladesh.

Asked if Buttler might play as a specialist batsman to lighten his workload in the field, Bayliss kept his options open. "I haven't really thought about it. We'll make that decision in the next day or so. We'll see how he pulls up and how he performs at practice. I'm expecting him to play a full part," Bayliss added.

Buttler has been in fine form at the World Cup, with scores of 18, 103 and 64 all coming at punishing strike rates.

Should Buttler fail to prove his fitness, Hampshire's James Vince would be the likeliest pick in his role as spare batsman.

All-rounder Moeen Ali is also eyeing a return to the team after sitting out the 106-run victory over Bangladesh in Cardiff.

His off-breaks were deemed surplus to requirements in a seam-heavy attack at Sophia Gardens, but he could come back into consideration in Southampton.

Moeen was excused from training on Wednesday after the birth of his new baby daughter Haadiya.

He will rejoin the squad for final preparations on the eve of the game and is available to take on the West Indies.

Friday's game will mark a first outing for Barbados-born Jofra Archer against a West Indies side containing several of his Caribbean friends and peers.

The 24-year-old suggested at the weekend he would be treating the game like any other, but Bayliss believes it would only be normal if the stakes were slightly elevated.

Archer was offered a chance to make it in English county cricket after being overlooked for the West Indies Under-19 World Cup squad in 2015 and a late bid to bring him back into the fold failed after England's interest became clear.

Topics mentioned in this article

England Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team World Cup 2019 Cricket England vs West Indies, Match 19 Josh Butler