Buttler: now let’s hit 500!

JOS BUTTLER said England would keep trying to reach 500 after missing out by a whisker in a record-breaking performance in the first one-day international against the Netherlands. After battering 14 sixes in a punishing 70-ball 162 not out as England made a world-record 498 for four, Buttler said: ‘We keep trying to push the boundaries, we keep trying to take the game forward.

‘We’ll keep trying to score 500, but it’s a tough thing to achieve. We’re going to have to play on a belting wicket and a small ground, but the biggest thing is the mentality we’re showing as a team, and we’ll keep trying to better that.’

Buttler’s pyrotechnics came after a mixed winter in which he struggled at the Ashes, then lit up the IPL with 863 runs for Rajasthan Royals. ‘The IPL couldn’t have gone better for me,’ he said. ‘The Ashes was tough, but I had two months of no cricket, which was very refreshing, and turned up to the IPL with lots of motivation, energy and drive to get the best out of myself.’

Eoin Morgan praised Phil Salt and Dawid Malan after they scored their maiden one-day international hundreds, but reserved his most gushing assessment for Buttler.

‘Jos is in a world of his own,’ said the England captain. ‘It’s not something we ever get sick of. It’s why he’s the best white-ball player in the world right now.’ Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar said: ‘We have to pull ourselves together and come back for the second game.’