England selected Dan Lawrence as a replacement for Jos Buttler in the deciding ODI against Sri Lanka. Buttler had been ruled out of the match after injuring his left hamstring during the second game of the series. He was batting at number five when the incident occurred.
Buttler had scored 31 runs in England’s first ODI win and played a key role during the chase in the second game, according to the ICC. England entered the final with the series tied at one match each. Jordan Cox replaced Buttler in the playing XI and kept wicket.
Cox expressed excitement at the possibility of playing in the final ODI. He noted that Buttler is likely the best white-ball cricketer England has ever produced. Lawrence has played 17 Tests for England.
His most recent Test appearance saw him score 65 runs against Pakistan. Lawrence also contributed with off-spin to take two wickets in his most recent Test against Pakistan.
England won the first game of the series by 89 runs at Chester-le-Street.
England then won the deciding ODI by 223 runs at The Oval after scoring 355 for seven. Tom Banton made 126 and Cox scored 76 before Sri Lanka were dismissed for 132 according to BBC Sport. The victory gave England the ODI series 2-1.
IMAGE: Jos Buttler keeping wicket during a County Championship match for Somerset against Essex at the County Ground, Taunton.. Photo: Harrias / Wikimedia, taken 2010-04-28, CC BY-SA 3.0