This Time Last Year- The Buttler Delivers

Vigorously rubbing the ball against his lycra trousers, Yasir Shah stands at the top of his mark, all set to bowl the first delivery of the 35^th over. Waiting down at the strikers end lies Joe Root, who anxiously taps the ground with the toe of his red and silver New Balance bat. Shah hustles in and bowls, a substandard ball at best, a filthy longhop at worst, but Root, seemingly set for a big innings on 40*, can only pull the delivery straight into the hands of short midwicket.

A hush falls over the Ageas Bowl, the early May sun flooding over the ground. The odd Pakistani horn sounds as a booming announcement informs the crowd that Jos Buttler will be the new man at the crease. Suddenly the noise picks up again. Those who were about to head off for a beer or toilet break scamper back to their seats; no one wants to miss a chance to watch a cricketer who, on his day, can rip any bowling attack into shreds.

The sold-out crowd waits in anticipation as Buttler makes his way down the steps, his spikes making a satisfying click-click noise on the metal staircase. England captain Eoin Morgan comes over to greet him and after a short verbal exchange and a punch of the gloves they both head off to their separate ends. Pawing the ground like a bull ready to charge, Buttler marks out his guard, before turning to face Shah. English hearts are positioned firmly in their mouths. Buttler jiggles his front shoulder as Shah releases the ball, before taking an uneventful single and my heart slows back down to a normal pace. It isn’t long before Buttler is back on strike however, as Morgan takes a single out to one of the boundary riders next ball, thrusting his partner back into the action.

Any worries that I had about a cricketer adored by me and many other teenagers across the globe not putting on a show that game were soon vanquished; on just his second ball Buttler was already thrilling the crowd after he heaved a short ball into the stands for a maximum, a perfect example of his aggressive cricketing style that had enthralled millions over the past couple of years. The brutality continued; Shah’s next two deliveries to the England wicketkeeper were both dispatched straight to the fence.

Good things don’t last for ever though; on just 17 Buttler flashes wildly at a length ball and both the bowler and keeper are certain he has nicked it, but a shake of the head from Chris Gaffaney reassures the crowd that they have nothing to worry about. My nerves prick up again as Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistani captain makes a T with his arms, the universal symbol in cricket for a review, but there is clearly no spike as the ball passes Buttler’s bat, and the sense of relief is almost palpable.

After that minor blip in his innings, Buttler is seemingly unfazed and continues to dish out treats for the eyes to feast on; in the 39^th over he reaches into his bag of tricks and pulls out his signature stroke, the ramp shot, whipping the crowd into a frenzy and two overs later he drags the spotlight back onto himself as he whacks two consecutive sixes over midwicket, the fielder out there only able to marvel at Buttler’s brilliance. Despite it being well over a month until Wimbledon that year, tennis was already in the south of England after Jos tennis-batted a short ball from Faheem over cover to bring up yet another ODI half century.

Two sixes later, and suddenly the thought creeps into my head that a Jos Buttler century might just be on the cards, but I quickly dismiss the idea; despite his immense power hitting, surely not even Buttler can slog his way to a century off the miniscule number of deliveries left in the England innings?

Despite the sun and cloudless sky, it’s most certainly raining in Southampton, but it isn’t H2O that’s falling from the heavens, it’s sixes from England’s most destructive batsman. The unthinkable is starting to become a reality as Buttler continues to serve up catches in the crowd as he powers his way closer to those magic three figures. His kookaburra kahuna is no longer merely a piece of Anglian willow but a magic wand able to whip crowds into a frenzy upon command.

17 balls after bringing up his fifty, Buttler has surged onto 94* and a mistimed shot from Eoin Morgan up to long on brings him on strike, the Southampton crowd well aware that he is just one hit away from a magical century. The tangy cheese Dorito I am about to eat can most certainly wait and it drops back into the packet with a little rustle. Hasan Ali gives the white Kookaburra ball a little shine. Jos Buttler gives his front shoulder a little waggle. Everybody inches a little further forward in their seats. Did Jos do it? Did he hit a six to bring up England’s second fastest ODI hundred, off just 50 balls? Did he? You bet he did. Ali’s attempted wide yorker gets creamed over the mid-off fence, sending the England supporters into raptures.

Plenty of alcohol was consumed that day, but despite not being old enough to put a beer down my throat, I was intoxicated too, by the batting genius of one man, Joseph Charles Buttler. Sometimes, no matter what team you support, you have to take your hat off to the spectacle you have just witnessed and even the Pakistani players were putting their hands together for Buttler as he walked off the pitch when England’s 50 overs were up. Perhaps watching him and Morgan coming up the steps into the changing rooms was the saddest moment of that match for me, you just never wanted his innings to stop. It was quite a show to put on for his daughter’s first cricket match.

Upon being asked about his hitting at the back end of England’s innings, he replied with characteristic humility, praising how deep England bat and the platform the openers set. Others were much less sparring with their praise however, with Eoin Morgan describing the innings as ‘freakish’ and then-Pakistani coach Mickey Arthur unable to answer the elephant in the room of ‘just how do you get Buttler out?’ I don’t blame him, as I’m fairly sure he wasn’t the only one unable to answer that particular question.

It truly was carnage on the 11^th of May 2019 at the Ageas Bowl, but carnage of the very best kind.

 

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment with your favourite Buttler innings below.