LANCASHIRE'S Jos Buttler had to miss the remainder of England's practice yesterday after splitting the webbing on his left hand in fielding drills on the eve of the final Royal London Series match.
Wicketkeeper Buttler had to leave his team-mates to practise without him at Emirates Durham ICG, and had a protective bandage on the wound, on Friday morning.
Should he be unavailable for the deciding match - the series against New Zealand is level at 2-2 - England have a contingency plan, with batsman Sam Billings in the squad and also a fully-fledged wicketkeeper with Kent.
The hosts were waiting to see how Buttler's hand recovers before making a final decision on his participation this morning.
He has been a key part of England's one-day international revival in the current series, hitting his country's fastest-ever century in their national-record 408 for nine in the opening match at Edgbaston last week.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here