Cricket Comment: Promoting Buttler could be key to reviving England’s World T20 bid
ENTERTAINMENT has been in abundant supply at the current World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, and that’s largely down to some stellar individual performances lighting up terrific matches.
Glenn Maxwell’s 74 off just 33 balls for Australia, the 94 off 54 in reply from Pakistan’s Umar Akmal, Dale Steyn’s 4-17 in South Africa’s win over New Zealand – all outstanding.
I’ve no doubt that whoever ends up winning the tournament will do so on the back of similar match-winning performances.
Unfortunately for England, nobody in Ashley Giles’s team has looked like producing any. Even in the preceding games against West Indies it was Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy who conjured those decisive displays.
Of course, there is no Kevin Pietersen, who would previously have offered that threat for England. That is that, and to some extent we have to be patient for new players to assume that role.
England have also been unlucky with the injury toll. Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Luke Wright are arguably our three best all-rounders and we’ve lost them all. Stuart Broad is not operating at full capacity either.
MIRACULOUS
But if there is one man left in that team who could emerge as the saviour, it’s Jos Buttler.
Lancashire’s new wicketkeeper-batsman has fantastic hand-eye co-ordination and can play shots that no other England player can. In short, he’s capable of the miraculous.
I hope Giles gives serious consideration to moving him up the order, though. Put him at No3 and Eoin Morgan at four. I don’t believe we need a finisher: in the shortest form, England need Buttler to bat for as long as possible. None of England’s recent results will have done much for Giles’s prospects of succeeding Andy Flower as Test coach. I’ve got some sympathy for him there, in that injuries are beyond his control.
IFFY
On the other hand, he has a major say in selection, and some of the decisions have been iffy.
I just don’t see whatever the England selectors do in Jade Dernbach, and I wonder whether we can do better than Tim Bresnan. Chris Jordan has done well and is probably worth persevering with.
It may just be a matter of reshuffling the team a little, because despite the results England haven’t done that badly. It is not all doom and gloom by any means.
The 172 they scored against New Zealand in the opener was a decent tally, and it may well have been enough for a win if the match had gone the distance. They were unfortunate that the weather intervened and I understood Broad’s frustration, which cost him a fine.
They now need three wins from three to progress to the semi-finals, starting tomorrow against Sri Lanka. It’s a tall order, but they are not out just yet, and Buttler may just be the man to revive their hopes.
Andy Lloyd is a former England Test cricketer who has also served as captain and chairman of Warwickshire.