England vice-captain Jos Buttler, on Tuesday (December 7), revealed that their premier pacer James Anderson has been rested for the first Ashes 2021-22 Test in Brisbane against Australia, starting on Wednesday, December 8.

After England revealed their 12-man squad for the first Test against Australia on Tuesday, Buttler confirmed that while Anderson is fit and raring to go, the 39-year-old has been rested in order to preserve his fitness given the long series ahead.

His comments came after reports emerged that Anderson had been ruled out of the first Ashes Test match against Australia due to a calf strain.

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Buttler told reporters in Brisbane: “Jimmy is not going to play but he is fit. He was bowling again today … had a few spells in the truncated match. (It’s) just a precautionary measure with an incredibly long series ahead.”

On being asked whether Anderson was always going to be rested, Buttler said: “All I’ve seen is Jimmy has been bowling and bowling well … He looks good to me but sorry I can’t answer that question.”

He further mentioned that both Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad are fit and available for selection for the first Test at The Gabba, Brisbane. The keeper said Stokes’ return is a big plus for England, as they are aiming to win their first Ashes series in Australia since claiming a 3-1 victory in 2010-11.

Buttler signed off by saying, “Ben is fit to play. He’s been performing very nicely in the nets. It’s a massive plus for us as aside.”

England 12-man squad for first Ashes Test in Brisbane:

Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

(With Reuters Inputs)