Published: Jun 10, 2015, 05:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 11, 2015, 12:38 PM (IST)
Jos Buttler’s career graph is on a hike, with every outing he’s gaining confidence and enhancing as a batsman. In the recent times, he has played some fantastic knocks to make his presence felt. Suraj Choudhari feels that the majority of the success for future of English cricket lies on one of the the young shoulders like Jos Buttler.
England in recent times has hardly looked formidable in the shorter formats. While they’ve always been a good unit in Test cricket but have struggled to replicate the same in the limited-overs format of the game. It seems that, the fortune of English cricket in the shorter format is on the change. With some young and talented legs in the side, England’s One-Day International (ODI) future seems to be in safer hands.
After a horrific time in the World Cup 2015, the side witnessed some ray of hopes as they won the first ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday. They amassed 408 runs in 50 overs, which is England’s highest score in ODI cricket. It was Buttler’s innings that made the difference. Buttler brought his hundred from 66-balls and went on to smack a 77-ball 129. Last year, the young wicketkeeper batsman became the fastest ODI centurion for England as he got to the landmark in just 61 balls against Sri Lanka at the iconic Lord’s.
Buttler’s batting is based on timing and aggressive hitting, his unorthodox style of play and positive approach has proved crucial as he’s got runs on a consistent basis in the middle. In 56 matches, Buttler averages 34.36 at a strike rate of 114.83. These are impressive numbers when you consider that he is a wicketkeeper batsman. The likes of Adam Gilchrist, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara have raised the bar for wicketkeeper batsmen in international cricket and Buttler has exhibited enough potential to continue successfully with this role in years to come.
In the first ODI, he batted with complete composure and took calculated risk; he manoeuvred the ball from the outset at Edgbaston. He played his natural game and smacked 13 boundaries and five sixes, launching a blitzkrieg on the Kiwis and helped England to register a record victory of 210 runs. He also recorded the highest seventh-wicket partnership with Adil Rashid as the duo put up a monumental 177-run stand to place their team in a dominating position. He showed great temperament and presence of mind in his innings when he carefully played out the pumped up Trent Boult who was the peak of the Kiwi bowlers before launching an attack.
Not only in ODI’s, Buttler has also made a name for himself in the most difficult format-Test. He had a dream debut in 2014 against India and has been a consistent run scorer in limited Test outings since then. His average of 52.66 in eight Test matches corroborates the belief. He’s a versatile batsman who is well capable of shifting his gears in no time.
On the contrary, he’s got an excellent pair of hands behind the stumps and has successfully filled in the shoes of Matt Prior. England’s near future especially in the shorter formats will largely depend on Buttler.
(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)
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