Trott ruled out of last ODI with hand injury

Jonathan Trott has been ruled out of the final one-day international against South Africa being unable to hold a bat following the hand injury he sustained from Dale Steyn at Lord's on Sunday.

Trott took a blow on his right hand early in his innings of 48 and was in clear pain throughout the rest of his stay in the middle and had two visits from the physio. Jos Buttler, the Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman who is in England's Twenty20 squad, has been called in as cover for Trent Bridge.

An ECB statement said an X-ray of the hand ruled out any major fracture. Trott also went for an MRI scan on Tuesday.

Although Buttler has been added to the squad, Trott's absence will mean a likely recall for Jonny Bairstow who is the spare batsman. He has been unfortunate not to find a place in the starting XI during the series following his successful return to the Test side at Lord's, where he made 95 and 54, plus his impressive unbeaten 68 in the Friends Life t20 semi-final against Sussex.

England have opted to stick with Ravi Bopara despite his problems with the bat where his series scores are 16, 0 and 6. Bopara, though, has bowled well and took 2 for 34 at Lord's.

Trott has been the anchor of England's batting during their two victories in the series which have given them an unbeatable 2-1 lead and ensured they will retain the No. 1 ranking going into 2013. He made 71 at The Oval and 48 at Lord's, forming crucial partnerships with the more aggressive Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell.

Trott's stability at No. 3 has also helped compensate for the lean time of Alastair Cook who has yet to post a significant score in the series. Trott has been in early in all three completed matches with England having opening stands of 0, 14 and 2.