BRUTAL JOS STICKS IT TO THE AUSSIES
Morgan hails his world-class hitman
From in Dubai JOS BUTTLER put his freakish talent on brutal display to crush Australia for the first time this winter and push the boundaries of what is possible in the game.
Buttler’s 71 not out from 32 balls was an exhibition in clean, powerful hitting and secured England an eightwicket win with a whopping 50 balls to spare.
But it was the manner in which he took each and every bowler apart that drew the greatest admiration from skipper Eoin Morgan, who believes Buttler is pushing the game to new heights.
“I think he’s certainly one of our players who are at the forefront of change in the game,” said Morgan. “He’s one of the best players in the world but yet he’s still trying to improve his game.
“He is trying to get better against every single bowler that he faces, he’s not just targeting those that might suit him.”
There have been some great wins by England over the Aussies in recent memory, and this thrashing can sit right alongside them.
From the moment Chris Woakes struck in the second over to remove David Warner, caught behind fiddling at one, to Jonny Bairstow striking the winning runs, England were out in front.
At no stage in the game did Australia even threaten to stop an England win, although they actually did reasonably well to get as many as the 125 all out they eventually managed.
Yes this is another game that has been won by the side winning the toss and batting second, but the only way this Australia team were going to win was if they had been given the chance to bat first and second.
England were operating on an altogether different level to the Aussies, who perhaps rather misguidedly thought they were starting to click with back-to-back wins before this humbling.
The truth is that they are ranked the sixth-best T20 team for a reason, while England are No.1 and just like a certain 5-0 thrashing at Old Trafford recently that is the sort of gulf between them.
Australia have some decent players of course, they always do. Six of their team were World Cup winners back in 2015, but that is a long time ago now.
And the way that Buttler tore apart a bona fide great white-ball bowler in Mitchell Starc as if he were a mediumpace club bowler suggests that the game might have moved on beyond them.
Buttler took Starc for three fours and two sixes into the top tier of the stands before turning his attention and talents to the rest of a shellshocked Aussie attack. It was dominant, unforgiving stuff.
But even before England’s finest white-ball batsman could get to work, their bowlers had set their stall out with another world-class display to keep the Aussies quiet with the bat.
Morgan went with Adil Rashid to partner Woakes up front which worked a treat, but it was Chris Jordan who followed up superbly to remove Steve Smith.
Jordan also bagged Aaron Finch for 44 and Pat Cummins when both were threatening to launch a final burst, to finish with 3-17 and the man-ofthe-match gong.
England’s record T20 bowler, Jordan, said: “It was great bowling from the boys, we stuck to our strengths and kept it simple.”