Buttler is back and insists he will do it his way
Jos Buttler has promised to do things his way as he prepares for a test comeback that marks the start of a new era for english cricket.
until recently, a white-ball superstar would have been left to get on with what he’s good at. But national selector ed smith regards Buttler as a vital cog in england’s attempt to get their test show back on the road after a dismal winter.
And if that means upsetting the traditionalists, so be it.
Buttler hasn’t played red-ball cricket since september 2017, or test cricket since December 2016. And that led to cries on social media that his selection devalued the county championship, where batsmen have had to scrap for every run on some lively early-season pitches.
But his recent form with rajasthan royals in the IPl has been irresistible. After being promoted to opener, Buttler averaged 107, smashing 428 runs from just 258 balls, including a record-equalling five successive fifties. He looked like what he is: one of the cleanest, most thrilling strikers of the ball in world cricket.
smith, a long-time fan, did not need convincing. And neither, it seems, did coach trevor Bayliss, who has always been keen on the idea of picking Buttler as a specialist batsman, but has lacked the support of his fellow selectors.
After the test series win in south Africa in 2015-16, the hosts’ coach russell Domingo told the england management that the one player he was glad his team didn’t have to bowl to was Buttler. It’s as if he has been more highly regarded abroad than at home.
Now, the challenge ahead of his test return against Pakistan at lord’s on thursday will be to stay true to himself — without necessarily looking to scatter the members in the pavilion every over.
‘For me, it is about trusting instincts and not fighting them,’ said Buttler. ‘that is going to be the best way to help me be successful. In the past, I have potentially felt as if I had to play in a certain way or be something I am not.’
Buttler is referring to the 2015 Ashes, when he got into a tangle against Australian offspinner Nathan lyon. His test average went from 52 at the start of the series to 35 at the end — and his test career took a similar nosedive.
When four innings against Pakistan in the uAe later that year produced just 34 runs, england dropped him and handed the gloves to Jonny Bairstow, who has been immovable ever since. ‘that Ashes is where I got away from what was serving me well in terms of mindset,’ he said. ‘It is a really good learning curve for me. Whether it comes off this time or not, I have to stay true to that.’ Buttler was picked again in India in 2016-17, playing as a specialist No 7 and managing a classy 76 in Mumbai. But that, for a while at least, looked to be that. ‘You always think maybe that race is run and it will never happen again,’ he said of a test career that has so far brought him 18 caps. ‘It’s not that you live with regrets, but you definitely miss it. to get that call, the overriding emotion was excitement.’
there was surprise too. Buttler did speak to rajasthan royals mentor shane Warne about trying to break back into the test team, with Warne encouraging him to stick to his strengths, no matter what the colour of the ball.
But Buttler had always targeted five championship matches for lancashire at the end of the summer, with a view to playing in November’s three-test series in sri lanka.
Above all, he never wanted to disappear into a white-ball pigeonhole. ‘For players of my generation, test cricket will always be the ultimate,’ he said. ‘Virat Kohli signing for surrey to get used to playing in england shows that, in players’ minds, tests are still the pinnacle.’ Crucially, Buttler is in the mood to show exactly what test cricket means to him. Does he feel in the form of his life? ‘Definitely of the recent past,’ he added. ‘My oneday hundred in sydney in January was probably as good as I have played. ‘In the IPl, I played high-pressure situations against some of the best in the world. It is a brilliant state of mind.’ time, it seems, to silence the traditionalists.
You always think maybe that race is run and it’ll never happen again