Jos: Century is my proudest moment
juniors. BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew tweeted: ‘ Great. So a crowd of 0 then…’
Notts responded: ‘We always think long & hard about day five pricing when we go on sale each October. Sometimes you’ll see a full day, sometimes a few overs.
‘In 2013, the match was exceptionally well poised.’
The furore could not overshadow more England batting frailties. These were only partially disguised by Buttler’s superb innings.
The 27-year-old made 106, putting on 169 in 57 overs with Ben Stokes for the fifth wicket to give his team a glimmer of hope that they might save the game — only for England to close on 311 for nine.
Defeat beckons today, although Buttler — whose previous Test-best of 85 came on his debut four years ago — said he was determined to put in a defiant performance after England were bowled out in a session in their first innings.
‘It was very important for us to show a lot of character and fight and not give it to India easily,’ he said. ‘We didn’t want to roll over.
‘ It was just disappointing I couldn’t make it last a bit longer. The hundred was really satisfying and it has been a long time coming. A few months ago it seemed like a million miles away, so it’s a huge moment for me. I was never sure if I’d ever play Test cricket again.
‘All those thoughts go through your head while you’re out there and start to get close. There were definitely times when I thought that race was run.
‘ It’s definitely my proudest moment in an England shirt.’
Buttler had not scored a red-ball century of any kind since June 2014, when he made 100 not out for Lancashire against Durham, but there will now be calls to promote him in England’s order, especially with Jonny Bairstow’s participation in the last two Tests in doubt.
One possibility is for Buttler to swap places with Ollie Pope, although England may be reluctant to push him too high in the order if Bairstow’s broken finger means Buttler will have to keep wicket.
Meanwhile, Stuart Broad has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for verbally abusing India batsman Rishabh Pant after dismissing him in the first innings.
An ICC statement said that Broad had ‘walked towards the batsman and spoke in an aggressive manner, which had the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction’.