Buttler selection curveball makes sense... he has been playing against the best in the world

JAMIE CRAWLEY: Ed Smith's decision to recall Jos Buttler to the England Test side is ballsy, unexpected, shows complete disregard for the County Championship... and it's the kind of decision we should probably get used to

^{Jos Buttler is back in the England Test squad}

England's new selector will have wanted to make a splash with his first Test squad, and it's safe to say he's made it. Jos Buttler will be in the team to face Pakistan at Lord's, trading Rajasthan Royal blue for England white, having not played any first-class cricket since the tail end of last season.

What he's been doing instead is lighting up the IPL. Buttler has carried the Rajasthan Royals on his back in recent games, with back-to-back match-winning knocks of 95 off 60, to guide his team past Chennai with a ball to spare, and 94 off 53 to do for Mumbai just two days later.

Even on Tuesday as his recall to Test cricket was being announced, the gloveman was setting about top-scoring for Rajasthan for the sixth successive game with 39 off 22.

Buttler's selection is certainly not one that will sit well with the traditionalists. There were a number of other names in the mix who have done things by the book – racking up runs in the County Championship.

Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes have both been in great nick for Surrey, while James Vince's unbeaten double ton at Taunton suggests his retention would have certainly been accepted if not welcomed. Even dear old James Hildreth was mentioned.

^{Buttler has been recalled by Ed Smith}

The truth is the County Championship has shown itself to be no gauge whatsoever of potential transferred value to Test cricket. It was this time last year remember that Gary Ballance was recalled to face South Africa at a time when he was averaging about 300 for Yorkshire. A fat lot of good it did him.

On the face of it the IPL might appear to be of even less help. Played in conditions as far removed from England in May as you can find, it's white ball cricket where batsmen are expected to send every other ball over the fence, and it's all over in three and a half hours (at least half an hour too long, according to the BBC).

Whether or not Buttler's exploits on the sub-continent instilled any of the traits in him expected of a Test batsman is neither here nor there. What it will have given him is practice of performing in a high pressure situation against some of the world's best bowlers in front of 30,000 fervent supporters demanding fireworks.

By comparison, compiling runs in front of rows of empty seats against a paint-by-numbers bowling attack is just far too junior to be any kind of indicator of how a batsman will fare in an England Test uniform.

Is this okay? No it's not. We all wish it were different. How nice it would be if the aforementioned world's best bowlers were littering the county scene and making the Championship as unrelenting and unforgiving a test of a cricketer's temperament as it once was.

Then probably Buttler would be journeying to Lord's from Manchester on the back of a stern workout on Lancashire duty, instead of jetting in from Jaipur having not seen a red ball in months.

^{It makes sense for Buttler to return}

But until such a time as the County Championship is formatted and marketed in a way that makes the above a remote possibility again, very few players with Buttler’s unique talents will be spending their springs playing cricket in England. Neglecting to pick them for that reason would be cutting your nose off to spite your face.

The ECB have far too much riding on the England Test team to do that. After a soul-destroying winter, they cannot afford a lukewarm England following. With the astronomic sums that Sky have paid to televise Test cricket, the ECB for their part need to make sure it's money well spent. They need England fans to be glued to their screens for five days at a time this summer and rebuild some goodwill up with another Ashes series plus a World Cup on the horizon next year.

This is where picking phenoms like Jos Buttler comes in. You can already picture the compilations of scoops, ramps, flicks and switches that Sky will treat us to before play begins next Thursday morning.

The ECB need England fans to get excited, so get used to selections like this one courtesy of Mr Smith. It may be the first of many.

JOS BUTTLER: A POTTED TEST HISTORY