JOS BRILLIANT ...JUST TERRIBLE

Buttler enjoys the best day of his career but his maiden Test ton - and a gritty 169 stand with Stokes - won’t be enough to save England

JOS BUTTLER sealed his 2018 return to Test cricket with a gritty maiden century.

But it will all be in vain today when India take the final wicket they need with England teetering on 311-9 at the close.

It was an act of defiance from James Anderson and Adil Rashid to force the game into a fifth day and make India’s bowlers get up and have to prepare their bodies for action once more.

And as futile a gesture as it may prove to be, it said something about a ‘never-give-up’ character within the dressing room that all too often looks like it has given up.

But the last stand still cannot hide the lack of quality elsewhere in the England line-up that crumbled so insipidly in the morning to 62-4, or the ease with which they lost four wickets for 10 runs in the evening.

There are still major issues affecting England’s batting and one magnificent partnership of 169 between Buttler and Ben Stokes does not wipe the slate clean.

What it does show is that there is the talent and the temperament required to succeed in Test cricket and their potential could yet translate into something real.

For Buttler this was an innings long in the making, 23 matches and 38 innings to be precise.

And it was vindication of a selection recall after 18 months in the wilderness that raised a few eyebrows back in May.

Buttler is a supreme whiteball batsman, but against the red ball his output has not matched his talent until now and understandably the Lancashire stumper believed this was a landmark he might never reach.

But with Jonny Bairstow handing over the gloves due to his broken finger, Buttler took on the role initially earmarked for him and flourished in a way that only the coldest heart would begrudge.

“It has been a long time coming,” he said. “A few months ago it felt like a million miles away so this is a huge moment for me.

“This is definitely my proudest moment in an England shirt.

“You can’t underestimate that feeling and I’m a little lost for words. To prove you can do it is a huge part of it. Not just for yourself, but to do it for your team is the biggest thing to show you belong.

“I was never sure if I’d play Test cricket again. I thought that race was run.

“All those thoughts go through your head while you’re out there and start to get close.”

Stokes deserves a pat on the back for the way he reined himself in for his 62 before Jasprit Bumrah took his first five-wicket haul near the end.

Buttler, 27, added: “It was very important for us to turn up and show a lot of character and fight and not give it to India easily. We did that well, even the two guys at the end. No matter what it is – we won’t roll over.”