Jos Buttler credits his recent spell in IPL for success in Tests
Jos Buttler, who followed his 67 at Lord’s with an unbeaten 80 in Leeds, has credited the confidence gained from IPL as the primary reason for his success in Tests. Buttler feels that IPL has helped him in discovering an uncomplicated approach to his batting, which he has implemented in Tests.
Jos Buttler, who was a surprise addition for the series against Pakistan, has grabbed the opportunity with both hands by scoring 67 at Lord’s and then following it up with unbeaten 80 in Leeds. As a matter of fact, Buttler had not played a single first-class match this year and had scored his last first-class century in January 2014. However, he felt that the confidence gained from his stint in the IPL, where he scored 5 half-centuries for Rajasthan Royals, has helped him in discovering an uncomplicated approach to batting.
"Those couple of weeks in the IPL gave me huge amounts of confidence," Buttler said as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
"To be in those pressure situations in India, playing in front of crowds, the pressure of being an overseas player. That showed me a lot about where I was at and where I can get to, so that gave me a lot of confidence. For me, not trying to worry about the colour of the ball definitely helps. Having put in good performances elsewhere and not putting as much pressure on myself."
Buttler's innings in Leeds was arguably his best in Test cricket since he made 85 against India on his debut in Tests in July 2014. He followed his debut innings with 2 fifties in next four innings, giving the impression that he had adjusted to the format. However, after that, he could not manage to hit a single 50 in his next 12 innings, which also included the nightmare of 2015 ashes. As a result, he was dropped towards the end of the year after four innings in the UAE. He did make a comeback for a while against India in
"In T20 there's generally another game soon after, so you know you've got another opportunity coming up. You probably just move on if you fail. But in Test cricket, if you get out early, you have a long time to think about it.
"I started to think too much about how to not get out, as opposed to how to score runs. I got in a really bad rut that I just couldn't get out of. The only real way to get out of it was to be dropped. And actually, being dropped released a lot of pressure. It wasn't very long after that that I made an ODI hundred in Dubai, which was a turnaround for me after a long and hard six months."
It was just ahead of that century in Dubai that he wrote "F*** It' on the top of his bat handle. It was a phrase that was picked up again by the cameras in Leeds during a break in play on Sunday. Buttler explained that it provided him with a constant reminder to not to over-think the game or worry about the outcomes.
"It's just something that reminds me of what my best mindset is. When I'm playing cricket and probably in life as well. It puts cricket in perspective. When you nick off, does it really matter? It's just a good reminder when I'm in the middle or when I'm questioning myself and it brings me back to a good place. Now my mentality is quite similar to my first few Tests. I'm not worrying about external factors. I'm just trying to play the game and trusting myself."
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