He sustained a hip injury in curious fashion, pulling up as he smashed a six during his 33-ball half-century, and he didn’t appear when England fielded.
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Asked about the injury after England’s 106-run victory, captain Eoin Morgan said: “There’s no serious concern at that moment.
“He’s going to be monitored over the next 48 hours, but at the moment it’s more precautionary than a situation where he is not able to do his job. I’m quite confident that it’s not a serious injury.”
England - who have now won two out of three matches - are next in action against the West Indies on Friday.
When Morgan was asked if they might pick Buttler solely as a specialist batsman, he said: “It depends on the risk of him making his injury worse in the field. If he is a risk going into the next game, it might not be worth it.”
Warne praise
Buttler’s displays for England have earned him praise from an unlikely source - Shane Warne.
The Australian spin king tormented England in the 1990s and 2000s, but he’s in awe of what his old enemy have become in the one-day game, and Buttler embodies the new found confidence.
“Buttler is arguably one of the most destructive batsmen who’s played white-ball cricket,” Warne told the Daily Mirror. “How would I bowl at Buttler? I would happily give him a single and get the other bloke down the striker’s end!”
And Warne paid England the ultimate compliment by comparing them to Australia of yore.
“It’s a positive mindset, an aggressive mindset, which is the Australian way,” he said of Eoin Morgan’s team.
“I like it, because it shows confidence in the side and I love the way Morgan captains his team.”
Aussies suffer first defeat
India made it two wins from two in their CWC campaign and in the process inflicted on Australia their first defeat of the tournament.
The Indians won by 36 runs at The Oval on Sunday with Shikhar Dhawan’s elegant 117 the foundation stone on which the victory was built.
There was also an important contribution of 82 from captain Virat Kohli as India compiled a daunting total of 352-5 in front of a vociferous crowd in south London.
Australia never seriously threatened to pull off what would have been a record-breaking run chase with Steve Smith’s 69 their top score as they finished on 316 all out.
“We came with intent,” said Indian skipper Kohli. “It was the perfect game for us. We were very professional again and that pleases you as a captain.”
Kohli’s Aussie counterpart, Aaron Finch, had no complaints with the outcome, saying: “It was just one of those games - they just outplayed us.”
Win or bust for the Proteas
South Africa play the West Indies at the Southampton Rose Bowl today knowing that defeat would all but eliminate them from the Cricket World Cup.
The Proteas have had a nightmare tournament to date, losing all three matches as well as talismanic fast bowler Dale Steyn to injury.
Now they face a West Indies side who thrashed Pakistan before losing a thrilling contest to Australia, a match that one of their former captains believes they should have won.
“I think on another day, with a better analysis of the situation they could have won that game,” said Clive Lloyd, who skippered the Windies to World Cup glory in 1979.
“The West Indies must start to play smart cricket because they have two real big games coming up against South Africa and England. Therefore they have to be on top of their game.”
Lloyd accused the West Indies of “throwing wickets away” against Australia, and called on them to be more focused against South Africa.
“While they haven’t performed to their ability, Windies have to be aware of the job at hand as South Africa is in danger of missing out on the top four if they lose,” Lloyd said.
“They now have to re-group, look at the mistakes they made and rectify them so that they can return to their winning ways.”
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