Jos Buttler attributes Australia knock to trusting his talent

AADAM PATEL IN DUBAI: England's thrashing of the old enemy was polished off by a superb 71* from the wicketkeeper-batter as Eoin Morgan's side went three from three in the men's T20 World Cup

“A genius.”

“A freak.”

“The best white-ball striker in the world.”

For all the compliments surrounding Jos Buttler after his brutal 71* off 32 balls to annihilate Australia, there was one comment post-match from his captain Eoin Morgan that epitomised the trailblazing status of his opening batter.

Asked whether he’d taken the game to a new level, Morgan said: “He’s certainly one of our players - there are a few of them - that are at the forefront of change in the game. He’s one of the best players yet he’s still trying to improve his game and get better against every single bowler that he faces. It’s not just targeting bowlers that might suit him, it’s every bowler.”

Buttler’s knock included five fours and five sixes and the ruthless manner in which he dispatched the Australian attack displayed a clear statement of intent. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, and Ashton Agar had no answer.

For Buttler, trusting his ability to consistently clear the rope whilst out in the middle is a clear point of focus. 

“That’s something that I try and work a lot on, in terms of the mental side, trying to have complete trust and accessing that zone," he said.

"Once you get in that hitting mode, it’s about allowing yourself to keep going. Sometimes, you think I’ll rein it back in a bit and you catch yourself half-hearted.

^{Eoin Morgan has a deluge of talent at his disposal in both disciplines}

"The position that we were in in the game, it was more ‘I’m just gonna keep going’ and keep trying to take advantage of being in a good zone.

“Imposing ourselves on the opposition is the way we’ve championed trying to play. We don’t try and play it safe. So, if we talk that way, we have to go out and play that as well."

He was on just nine from 10 balls, watching from the other end as opening partner Jason Roy went after the Aussie quicks, before going on a charge of his own.

Buttler is full of admiration for Roy, a batter whose fearless approach embodies the style and spirit of this England side perhaps more than anyone else.

“You get quite inspired really by Jason (Roy) running down first ball against Hazelwood and running down at Cummins," Buttler, who presented Roy with the cap marking his 50th T20I against Bangladesh, explained. "These are top, top bowlers and the way he imposed himself sort of inspired me at the other end.”

The debate over the formation of the opening pair has ended, with Buttler have accumulated 988 runs at an average of 55 with a strike rate of 149.

^{Jason Roy set the tone in the chase in Dubai}

“He just seemed to hit the middle of the bat over and over again," Morgan gleamed post-match. "He’s one of the best players in the world and when it comes off like today, it’s very difficult to stop him.”

England have made it look easy thus far following three successive wins. “This format doesn’t allow much room for error so to be three from three and to play as convincingly as we have has been awesome," the Lancashire wicketkeeper-batter admitted.

“I thought all the bowlers were exceptional and I thought the level of fielding was incredible. In all three games, the fielding has been brilliant and to back that up with the bowling makes a huge difference.

“We want to put the opposition under pressure in all facets of the game with bat, ball and in the field and the way we run as well. I think we’re an incredibly fit team. 

"That gives us another dimension, especially on fields like this where there are bigger gaps at times and you can push twos. It’s another area where we can push to try and play at the level we want to play.”

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