Buttler shares thoughts on order change after smashing England to victory
England white-ball captain Jos Buttler insists he is happy with his move down the batting order after smashing 83 off 45 balls to earn a seven-wicket T20 win in the West Indies.
Buttler’s blistering knock featuring eight fours and six sixes helped the tourists surpass the hosts’ 158-8 with 31 balls to spare and take a 2-0 series lead in Barbados.
It came after he gave up his opening batter’s spot to Will Jacks, who made an unbeaten 38 as England racked up successive resounding victories.
“I’ve played all over the order, it’s just something new for me and also to give Will Jacks the opportunity to open,” said Buttler.
“He’s done fantastically well in franchise cricket, it gives [Phil] Salt and Jacks the chance to really attack and know I’m behind them. It’s only T20 cricket where I open, so it doesn’t feel too different at all.”
Buttler was out for a golden duck in the series opener – his comeback from a lengthy lay-off with a calf injury – but was called into action here when Salt was dismissed first ball.
After feeling his way into the innings with three singles off his first 10 balls, big-hitting Buttler soon went through the gears as England moved to the brink of winning the five-game series.
“I haven’t played for four months, I wasn’t expecting to come out and middle it from ball one. I certainly felt a bit scratchy early on but I managed to get through that bit,” he added.
“As soon as I got one out the middle, I felt a lot more comfortable. I really enjoyed it. It was a really good performance from the team and great to be back scoring runs in an England win.”
Saqib Mahmood, Liam Livingstone and Dan Mousley took two wickets each for England, while Jofra Archer’s menacing bowling deserved more than the solitary scalp of Evin Lewis.
“We always expect so much from Jofra because of what he’s capable of,” Buttler said.
“But he’s not played cricket for a long time, so to now have put together a bit of a body of work, I’m sure he’s just feeling more and more confident every game. He bowled beautifully here.”
In touching distance of their first T20 series triumph away from home in two years, England are due to travel to St Lucia on Monday ahead of the third match on Thursday.