SA vs ENG | Jos Buttler will continue to open in T20 cricket, confirms Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan has restated that Jos Buttler, whose batting position has been a point of debate, will continue to bat up-front in T20s. Morgan lavished praise on Buttler, who scored a fifty in the third T20I, and described the 29-year-old as ‘one of England’s greatest ever white-ball cricketers’.
An Ajinkya Rahane masterstroke in mid-2018 in the Indian Premier League - to promote Jos Buttler to the opening slot - ended up unearthing a whole new dimension in Buttler’s batting, as the then newly-promoted opener equaled the all-time IPL record, scoring five consecutive half-centuries. Ever since, the Royals have continued to sport the 29-year-old as an opener and taking note from the same, England, led by Eoin Morgan, too, started employing the same, with the team permanently promoting Buttler to the opening slot in T20I cricket.
The move to open with the wicket-keeper, however, was not universally acclaimed, with many believing that the 29-year-old should bat down the order, but Morgan, on the back of England’s win in the third T20I, has restated that the team will continue playing the versatile batsman up top.
"I think the priority at the moment is to get the top three facing as many balls as they can - they are the most destructive players that we have. If that changes between now and the World Cup, and we feel the need to fill a gap somewhere, then we might change it but, for the moment, it's an extremely destructive batting line-up to play against,” Morgan was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"We're very fortunate. When you've got guys at the top, like Buttler, Roy, Bairstow - to lay a platform like that in such a destructive, dismissive way - it really does build confidence for the middle-order and lower-order guys coming in."
After lean outings in the first two T20s - scoring just 15 and 2 respectively - Buttler bounced back in style in the third, scoring a 27-ball 59 to put the South African bowlers to sword. The England skipper expressed his delight over his talisman batsman coming back to form and labeled the wicket-keeper batsman as ‘one of England’s greatest ever white-ball cricketers’. Morgan further stated that Buttler’s talent has no limits, and compared the 29-year-old to South Africa’s AB de Villiers, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest white-ball cricketers to have ever graced the game.
“I'm delighted for Jos. "He's one of our greatest-ever white-ball cricketers. I realise why he's talked about so much, but not in a negative way. I think he has as much talent as somebody like AB de Villiers; it took De Villiers a long time, and a lot of games, to get going in a South African shirt.
"We need to back guys that have that sort of talent; Jos has been around a long time now and we know that when he delivers, we win games of cricket. It's great to see him back in the runs.”