BUTTLER’S OPEN AND SHUT CASE
Genius Jos ends the debate about his role as England’s T20 opener
JOS BUTTLER put an end to the debate about his role as an opener in T20 cricket with a clinical match-winning display beyond most others.
Buttler’s 83 not out in an eight-wicket win, outskilled and outgunned Virat Kohli’s own brilliant innings and put England within one win of a worthy series victory.
Naturally, as has been the case all series, the team winning the toss batted second – suggesting a little too much is riding on the flip of a coin.
But once the division of labour had been decided, Buttler was simply sublime.
Backing up the opening salvos from Mark Wood and Jofra Archer (both right) with the ball to restrict India to 156-6, Buttler and Jonny Bairstow put the game to bed at a canter with 10 balls to spare. And from flicks to scoops and reverse sweeps to powerful drives into the empty stands, this was a T20 batting masterclass. Buttler (above) has so much ability that some would like to see him used as a middle-order dasher to turn a good score into a winning one – or to put the finishing touches to a run chase. Here he showed just why sending him out to face as many balls as possible could yet be the best idea Eoin Morgan has had among many.
Buttler said: “I was delighted to contribute and spend some time in the middle after getting a first baller in the last game.
“People seem to enjoy talking about where I bat, and I sometimes feel the pressure of that and each time I get the opportunity to open I want to try and make a case for it.
“But I’ve got the full backing from Morgs to go and do that, which gives me a lot of confidence and I really enjoyed the role today as I always do. It is my preference to bat there in T20 cricket as it is for most people.
“It is the best place to bat in the game, but I’ll always be open-minded about it.”
India found setting an imposing target difficult once Wood removed KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma inside the first five overs before Chris Jordan did for Ishan Kishan in the sixth to end the powerplay at a limp 24-3.
If it wasn’t for Kohli’s brilliance in taking Wood’s final over for 17 and putting the foot down at the death to hit an unbeaten 77, this game would have been over as a contest at half-time.
Former Indian keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik described Kohli (left) as “starting like a Corolla and finishing like a Ferrari” in the perfect assessment of an innings that might have been enough to beat a team without Buttler in it.
Thankfully for England and for Morgan on the occasion of his 100th cap, Buttler was there to make the presentation... and then deliver the goods.
Derby
BY DAVE ARMITAGE
WAYNE ROONEY pulled off a substitution masterclass to hold up Brentford’s push for promotion.
It looked plain sailing for the Bees, who were 2-0 up at halftime and cruising, but it clearly gave Rooney the hump.
His Derby side had not managed a single shot on target, so he decided to do something about it and brought on three substitutes at once.
And two of them – Lee Gregory and Louie Sibley – underlined what a great move it was with goals to snatch two points from Brentford’s grasp.
Gregory scored from close range just 90 seconds after coming on, and Sibley saved the best until last with a cracking 86th-minute equaliser to stun
2 Brentford
the visitors. It looked like Ivan Toney had got just what he wanted for his birthday – a 27th goal of the season to keep Brentford’s promotion push firmly on track.
The Bees’ striker celebrated his 25th birthday and it was all going sweetly – until Derby suddenly decided to end almost seven hours without a goal.
When Toney rammed home an eighth-minute penalty to give Brentford the lead, things were already starting to look tough for a Derby side without a win in four games.
So when Sergi Canos doubled the Bees’ lead midway through the first half, the chances of the
Rams getting back into it already looked somewhat bleak.
The fact was that the visitors could easily have gone in at the break four goals to the good, while their opponents failed to offer a single effort on target.
It had not taken long to go wrong – Toney sending keeper Kelle Roos the wrong way from the spot after Bryan Mbeumo was fouled by Lee Buchanan.
Mbeumo then blasted a great chance wide and Vitaly Janelt could also have made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time, but seemed to lose his footing at the key moment.
It was tame stuff from a home side approaching seven hours without a goal. Even Rooney, the most prolific England striker of all time, must have wondered how he was going to inject a goal threat into his side.
So the Rams boss gambled with a triple substitution and it paid dividends.
Brentford got edgy when Gregory stabbed home from close range.
And it was no more than Derby deserved when Sibley curled in a left-footer from the edge of the box four minutes from time to salvage a point. DERBY: Roos 6, Byrne 6, Wisdom 6 (Roberts 86), Clarke 7, Buchanan 6, Bird 6 (Mengi 46, 6), Shinnie 7, Jozwiak 5 (Sibley 46, 7), Watson 5 (Gregory 46, 8), Knight 6, Kazim-Richards 7 (Lawrence 78, 6)
BRENTFORD: Raya 6, Dalsgaard 6, Jansson 7, Reid 6, Sorensen 6, Jensen 7 (Ghoddos 71, 6), Norgaard 7 (Forss 89), Mbeumo 6 (Rasmussen 85), Janelt 6, Canos 6 (Fosu-Henry 71, 6) Toney 8 REFEREE: David Webb
CLIMB ON TOP
Dickie says QPR have thrived since signing Austin and Johansen (right)
QPR v Millwall 7pm QPR defender Rob Dickie has revealed how “experience” and being “streetwise” has turned their season around.
Rangers have moved up the Championship table with a winning run since the arrival of 30-somethings Charlie Austin and Stefan Johansen in January.
QPR had a rare slip-up against Huddersfield on Saturday but get the chance to bounce straight back against Millwall in tonight’s London derby.
On-loan Austin, 31, has scored five goals since joining from West Brom while 30-yearold Johansen has brought experience to their midfield since joining on loan from Fulham.
Dickie said: “The January window was big for us because you can’t put a price on the experience that Charlie and
Stefan bring. A lot of football clubs look to sign players at 25 or 26, look to the resale. But sometimes to help those players develop you need to help them with experienced players.
“Charlie has been scoring goals, Stefan is really important in midfield and that spine of the team is so important for us. We’re learning from them.
“It’s helped me a lot because it’s confidence, it helps you defend but also develop your game and show belief to bring the ball out of defence and play to my strengths.
“Charlie brings the experience and knowledge. Things like ingame knowledge and when you’re coming to the end of a game, he’s saying the right things, being a bit streetwise and seeing games out. It’s so important.”
Dickie himself has been an important signing after joining from Oxford last summer and has embraced the step up from League One to the
Championship. But the Championship has been a major test because of the relentless fixture schedule as well as testing himself against some top class opponents.
Dickie, 25, a ball playing centre half, said: “I like to think I’ve shown I can make that step up. The Championship is so competitive. One of the hardest games we’ve had was Blackburn away, they gave us one of the toughest spells in a game we’ve faced because we couldn’t get the ball off them.
“Norwich are very good. You can tell they’ve been working together for a good couple of years now and they are the best team we’ve played. We managed a 1-1 draw with them but they were so impressive with the way they moved the ball with accuracy and speed.
“But QPR is such a big club, there’s so much potential here and hopefully they can do some deals, maybe get Stefan and Charlie on a permanent basis.”
BY
WHEN the post-mortem of Liverpool’s season begins this summer, Virgil van Dijk’s absence will be highlighted as the main reason they lost their crown so meekly.
With an injury-torn defence it would have been a big ask to keep pace with Manchester City in their current form.
But if Diogo Jota did not sit out three vital months then Jurgen Klopp’s side may not have gone from champions to a side struggling to contend for a Champions League place.
They may, at least, be leading the rest of the pack.
Boss Jurgen Klopp (with Jota, right) admitted at the weekend: “It was a big miss.
The moment he got injured, he was in a really good moment, which then makes it even worse.”
It did not even look like Liverpool needed Jota when they splashed out £41million to bring the Portuguese ace, 24, from Wolves in the summer.
Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane had fired the Reds to their first title in 30 years.
Why fix what wasn’t broken?
But the signing was about adding another cog to the machine to keep it rolling, when tiredness would inevitably set in for the front three who have played so much football for the last three years.
Jota was still expected to clearly face a battle to get chances, but he immediately made his presence felt with a goal on his league debut for the Reds against Arsenal.
Then came winners against Sheffield United and West Ham before a Champions League hat-trick against Atalanta.
“What does he bring? It’s quality,” added Klopp. “He can play all three positions up front. He makes us stronger, which is really good.”
Jota offered Liverpool an alternative rather than a replacement to the front three. If teams sat in, Jota provided another key to unlock them. But in
December, he suffered a knee injury against FC Midtjylland.
Would Liverpool have got a second against West Brom on December 27 if they had Jota to come off the bench?
Maybe he could have snaffled a winner at Newcastle or an equaliser at Southampton. Then there was the goalless draw against Manchester United when the Reds were crying out for something different.
And defeats at home to Burnley and Brighton might have been different with a fit and firing Jota to offer fresh impetus and legs.
He provided that against
ex-club Wolves on Monday night to get a vital three points and inject new life into Anfield’s top-four bid.
There is speculation Jota could replace one of the front three if they wanted out this summer – should the Reds fail to qualify for the Champions League.
But Liverpool did not buy him to do that. They brought him in to add to their attack.
Judging by City’s relentless form this term, they need all the help they can get to battle for the title next term.
“It’s really important we have him back, for plenty of reasons,” said Klopp.
Jota’s absence is one of the main reasons Liverpool’s title defence crumbled, but he could certainly play a big part in the rebuild.