England's Jos Buttler celebrates another ODI century
©Reuters
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Brilliant Buttler needs honours chart all of his own
In an era of big hitters, where strike rates outside of three figures no longer cut it at the very highest level, Jos Buttler has taken the art of white ball destruction to an entirely new stratosphere. They say that form is temporary while class is permanent, but England’s main man is proving that both can be maintained.
Purple patches are common for elite sportsmen and women, with there periods where stars align and seemingly anything is possible. For mere mortals, such a run is usually followed by the odd dip. Not in the case of Buttler.
England are desperately hoping that seemingly unworldly feats of brilliance will carry on for some time yet, with cricket tips very much in their favour as Eoin Morgan’s side count down the days to another shot at ICC World T20 glory in 2022 – an event they are priced at 100/30 to win – and the defence of a 50-over crown in 2023.
If Buttler is still seeing deliveries like beach balls by the time those tournaments roll around, then rivals from India to the West Indies had better watch out. He is, of course, no one-man band and cannot be expected to single-handedly carry his country over any given line.
Best in the world at what he does.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 18, 2022
Take a bow, @josbuttler ??
???? #NEDvENG ?????????????? pic.twitter.com/yPdYd4nk2b
He has, however, shown in recent times that he is most definitely a man for the big occasion and one who appears to shoulder the weight of expectation with consummate ease. Pressure? That word no longer exists in his vocabulary.
Right now, Buttler can do no wrong and will believe that – having been chosen to partner Ben Stokes in that memorable World Cup final Super Over back in 2019 before whipping off match-winning bails to spark wild scenes of celebrations – he is ready to inspire bids for more major silverware in the months ahead.
Untouchable
Buttler has become almost untouchable when it comes to white-ball endeavours for England, and that is some achievement given the calibre of players around him. Team-mates who are more than capable of producing match-altering magic of their own – Morgan, Stokes et al – now fill support roles behind the main act.
Another supersonic century was struck in a record-setting ODI clash with the Netherlands on June 17, with a bat raised to the stands after facing just 47 balls.
That effort was England’s second-fastest ton in the 50-over game. Top of that chart, on 46 balls, is Buttler. Third on the list, from 50 balls, is Buttler. In fact, he now fills five of the top 10 entries on a notable roll of honour.
A once-in-a-generation talent.#NEDvENG pic.twitter.com/QlX5A1USbC
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 18, 2022
He has also continued to star in T20 circles, finishing as top run-scorer at the 2022 IPL – registering 863 in total at an average of 57.33 and with four hundreds and four half-centuries included on a quite remarkable individual score card.
Debate as to who is the best batsman in the world when it comes to various formats of the game is usually heated, with geographical allegiance needing to be factored into the equation as various names are added to the pot, but Buttler currently stands in a talent bracket of one.
He is the finest on the planet, of that there is no doubt, and if he continues to scale the heights that he has reached at present, then he is going to start requiring honours boards all of his own.
