BRILLIANT BUTTLER STOPS ROT
England batsmen flounder again, then Jos leads fightback with echoes of KP
FoR a short, sweet spell yesterday, Jos Buttler produced a passable imitation of Kevin Pietersen’s famous innings here at the oval in the greatest of all Ashes series.
The most gifted and thrilling England batsman since KP was smashing the Australian bowlers to all parts of this famous old ground and it was just like 2005 all over again.
Trouble was, England had gone a long way by then towards blowing their golden opportunity to make a formidable first innings score in this final Test and preserve their unbeaten home Ashes record that has stood since that famous Pietersen-inspired draw here.
Buttler was brilliant as he switched into full expansive, innovative mode with England in big trouble. He hit three sixes and one particularly audacious reverse swept boundary to reach an unbeaten 64 in the autumn sunshine. And how satisfying for Buttler it must have been to have his childhood Somerset friend Jack Leach alongside him as he lifted England from 205 for seven to a more respectable 271 for eight.
But England could still regret yet another display of reckless, impatient batting that will almost certainly see them fall well short of the 400 mark that should have been a formality yesterday, even for this vulnerable side.
Australia could not have done more to provide England with a chance to earn a series-levelling victory. First Tim Paine decided to bowl first after winning his fourth toss when all logic and history cried out for Australia to bat.
Then there was Australia’s curious selection in picking all- rounder Mitch Marsh (right) to ease their bowling load but then adding Peter Siddle, another workhorse, and leaving out strike bowlers Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson.
Most of all there was just as much carelessness from Australia as they dropped Joe Root no fewer than three times and then handed England back a wicket when Pat Cummins overstepped before trapping Sam Curran lbw.
Maddeningly, England just could not take advantage as they lost five wickets after tea when the old ball started swinging, and produced all the brittleness that has plagued their Test cricket in this white-ball dominated era.
Their problems were summed up by Root. The captain had looked exhausted and even a little haunted before this Test and batted like it as he seemed to do everything he possibly could to give Australia his wicket.
Root was inexplicably dropped by Siddle at long leg on 24 after he had played a dozy pull at Cummins. Paine handed him his second reprieve just a run later, diving in front of David Warner and fumbling another chance off Cummins.
Then it was the turn of Steve Smith to put Root down, diving to his right at slip after he had aimed an airy drive at Siddle on 30. Somehow Root reached another half-century, passing 7,000 Test runs in the process, but could not take advantage of his good fortune and make Australia pay, yet again failing to convert a half- century into three figures. Yes, Root received a decent ball from Cummins that may have kept a little low after seaming away to take his off stump. But the England captain should be cashing in, as Smith inevitably would have done.
Consider this. Four years ago when these teams contested the last Test of a victorious Ashes series for England, Root was ranked the best batsman in the world. Now, after almost three years of captaincy, he has slipped to No 7. Root has reached 50 against Australia 16 times but only three times has he moved on to a hundred. Compare that with Smith, who has converted 11 of his 19 half-centuries against England into three figures.
By then Joe Denly, Rory Burns and Ben Stokes had all given away their wickets and after Root had gone Australia tightened the screw and waited for England to implode — as they inevitably did before Buttler stopped the rot.
And the most disappointing aspect of the day for England was that it was the journeyman Marsh who proved their principal destroyer, taking four cheap wickets before suffering cramp and limping from the attack.
If it were not for Buttler England would have been gone for fewer than 250, but here was his best Test performance of the summer.
Buttler remains a conundrum at this level. He has been moved up and down the order this summer but looked more comfortable here when he was left with the tail and given licence to go for his full range of white-ball shots.
He is far too good to be jettisoned in Test cricket but perhaps his best role — do not tell Bairstow — would be for him to take the gloves and go to seven.
For now, after a day when Australia finished a criminal eight short of the required 90 overs despite the extra half hour, he has kept England in this Test. But Buttler needs to prosper against the second new ball today if they are to properly get out of jail.