Jos Buttler does not know if he will return to the Test fold for England, stressing his focus remains firmly on white-ball cricket ahead of next year's World Cup defence.
Having led his side to success in the T20 World Cup last month in Australia, the wicket-keeper-batsman will look to defend the 50-over trophy he won as part of Eoin Morgan's side in 2019 next October.
Buttler's commitments to the sport's shorter formats has seen him kept out of the red-ball game, having last played for the Test team in January.
With the World Cup now 10 months away, the 32-year-old is not ruling out a return, but says it is not a priority with his other commitments.
"We will wait and see [but] I don't know for the minute, to be honest," he told Sky Sports News.
"I am really enjoying what I'm doing at the moment, and getting the opportunity to captain the white-ball teams has been a great challenge and really enjoyable.
"The attention turns to the 50-over World Cup and trying to think ahead and planning how we tackle that tournament. We've had a couple of retirements from the side, some stalwarts in Stokes and Morgan.
"We've got to work out how we fill that hole and give guys the opportunity to take those positions up and look to build a balanced team ahead of the tournament."
Test skipper Ben Stokes has retired from the ODI format since succeeding Joe Root as red-ball captain, but has not ruled out coming back into the fold for the World Cup.
Buttler would not be drawn on whether he would reverse his decision, however, adding: "He's got lots on his plate captaining the Test team and obviously some exciting series coming up with the Ashes next year especially.
"We'll just plan ahead and give guys the opportunity and things will work themselves out naturally.
"I think over the next six to eight months, guys will perform really well and put their hand up and try to stake a claim for those positions."
Marnus Labuschagne admits ‘hands just about hanging on’ after bruising Oval test
Marnus Labuschagne emerged bruised but not beaten as Australia extended their advantage on day three of the World Test Championship final, admitting “my hands are just about hanging on”.
Labuschagne, Test cricket’s number one ranked batter, is one of several batters who have been put through the ringer over the first three days at the Oval.
On day one he suffered a nasty blow to his left thumb that required treatment and his second innings proved no gentler, with the Australia number three tossing his bat to the floor after another heavy blow to the glove.
Labuschagne survived the examination, carving out an unbeaten 41 from 118 deliveries as Australia reached stumps 296 ahead on 123 for four.
With the Ashes just a week away, an injury is the last thing anyone in the Australia dressing room wants to consider, and Labuschagne looks set to be battle-hardened by the time he takes on England at Edgbaston.
“I’ve got good bone density. My hands are just about hanging on,” he told Test Match Special.
“It is lively out there, and that does make it challenging when they bounce like that off a length, but that happens as a batter and you’ve just got to find a way through it.
“We’re certainly not taking this game as Ashes preparation, but it is certainly handy to have a Test of this calibre before a very big series.”
Labuschagne’s innings started in unusual fashion, with the 28-year-old appearing to nod off on the balcony while fully padded up.
David Warner’s dismissal shortly before tea saw him wake with a start, but he showed no signs of drowsiness as he faced off with the Indian attack, reaching the interval intact and negotiating the full evening session as Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Travis Head fell around him.
Team-mate Mitchell Starc explained: “I think he mentioned that when he came off actually, that he was just resting or having a little doze.
“Obviously he’s able to switch on pretty quickly and he copped a few across the knuckles to wake him up. He’s done a very good job in that last session, fighting through some difficult situations to keep the scoreboard ticking over.”
Starc, who picked up two wickets but saw his economy rate exceed five an over, admitted Australia had been off their game in the morning’s play.
After Scott Boland struck with the second ball of the day they saw three catches go down, while Pat Cummins had a second wicket of the innings struck off for a no-ball.
Australia were much improved after the break, jolted into life by an outstanding reaction catch from Cameron Green at gully.
“Not too much was spoken, just the fact that we were probably a bit sloppy in that first session and to sharpen up,” said Starc.
“The fact that we still took 10 wickets and created more than 10 chances throughout the first innings is a good sign but we’ve got plenty of room to improve and certainly get that rhythm back. We’ll be better for the run.”
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur argued that his side were still in the contest, taking some heart from their own defeat by England at Edgbaston last year, when Ben Stokes’ men chased 378 with seven wickets in hand.
“Cricket is a funny game. You never know who can handle the pressure better out there,” he said.
“One good partnership and you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that. Last year England chased almost 400 and did not lose too many wickets, so that’s a positive sign for us.”
Athanaze, Sinclair star as West Indies beats UAE by four wickets to secure 3-0 series sweep
Alick Athanaze and Kevin Sinclair played starring roles to help the West Indies beat the UAE by four wickets in the third ODI at Sharjah on Friday.
The hosts, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, got off to an excellent start, reaching 142-2 inside 23 overs before the West Indies took control of proceedings.
The UAE lost their final eight wickets for 42 runs to eventually be dismissed for 184 in just 36.1 overs. The bulk of the scoring was done by Vriitya Aravind who got a 75-ball 70 including eight fours and one six. Captain Muhammad Waseem also contributed 43.
Kevin Sinclair was excellent in his 7.1 overs, taking a career-best 4-24 while Yannic Cariah took 2-34 from eight overs.
The West Indies then lost six wickets on their way to 185 in 35.1 overs.
The successful chase was led by debutant, Alick Athanaze, and Shamarh Brooks.
Athanaze hit nine fours and three sixes on his way to a rapid 45-ball 65 at the top of the innings while Brooks made a composed 58-ball 39.
The Dominican's fifty came off just 26 balls, tying the record for fastest ODI fifty by a debutant, equaling India's Krunal Pandya against England in 2021.
Things got a bit tricky for the tourists when Karthik Meiyappan dismissed Keacy Carty (20) and Kavem Hodge (0) off consecutive balls in the 26th over to leave them 145-5.
Stand-in captain, Roston Chase, who ended 27*, as well as Raymon Reifer (15) and Keemo Paul (2*) ensured the Windies avoided a historic collapse.
Aayan Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah and Karthik Meiyappan all took a pair of wickets, each.
Australia on course for world title despite fielding woes against India
Australia look set to begin the Ashes as Test world champions as they made light of missed opportunities to move into a winning position on day three against India.
With a week to go until their series opener against rivals England, Australia pressed home their advantage in the World Test Championship final as they stretched their advantage to 296 by the close of play.
Australia may not have been at their ruthless best at the Oval, allowing three chances to go down in the morning session and seeing captain Pat Cummins denied his second wicket of the match for a front-foot no-ball, but their quality shone through regardless.
Even with their profligacy in the field they were able to bowl their opponents out for 296 – a lead of 173 – before making their way to 123 for four at stumps.
Cameron Green also offered a pointed riposte to any concerns over their catching, leaping to grab a one-handed stunner after lunch to see off India’s top-scorer Ajinkya Rahane (89).
Australia’s first-innings centurions Steve Smith and Travis Head both fell to spinner Ravindra Jadeja but the world’s number one ranked batter, Marnus Labuschagne, spent valuable time in the middle as he made 41 not out.
India began the day on 151 for five and had a nightmare start when Scott Boland’s scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day. That left India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand but despite a relentless attacking effort from the bowlers, that proved the only breakthrough of the morning.
Boland came within inches of striking a second time in the opening over, snaring a thick edge from Shardul Thakur, but the leaping Usman Khawaja was unable to gather a chance that squirmed free.
Thakur needed plenty of steel to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove. Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.
With Thakur in a state of almost permanent peril, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century. He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.
On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to David Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after parrying the edge.
Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw an lbw decision against Thakur overturned by a no-ball call. It was a case of history repeating for Cummins, who had also lost a wicket to over-stepping on day two when Rahane was reprieved on 17.
Australia needed a pick-me-up and Green provided it in style at the start of the afternoon session, showing razor-sharp reactions and athleticism to take a jaw-dropping catch that ended Rahane’s stay. Cummins was the beneficiary and he made sure to cash in when he cleaned up Umesh Yadav for five.
Thakur reached 51 before being undone by Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc finished things up by bouncing out Mohammed Shami.
The India-dominant crowd did their best to create a hostile atmosphere for the Australian batters, with Warner an early casualty as he nicked off to Mohammed Siraj. Labuschagne was woken from a nap on the balcony to dash out at number three and he occupied the crease for the rest of the day, soaking up 118 balls.
Khawaja missed out for the second time in the match when he swung hard at Yadav and fed Bharat another catch, before Jadeja took advantage of some attacking strokes from Smith and Head. The former holed out on the charge, with Head feeding a return catch back to the spinner, but Australia’s lead was growing all the time to leave India struggling.
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