Jos Buttler might be receiving accolades from some of the great players and pundits for his approach with the bat on the 5th day of the second Ashes test where he scored just 26 runs off 207 balls, the former England fast bowler Steve Harmison is not entirely sure about Buttler’s credentials as a Test batsman.
The reason why Buttler batted the way he batted on the 5th day at Adelaide Oval was that the target that Australia had set for England was too far away and the visitors couldn’t have got to it. The only thing England could have got out of the game was a draw, which was the reason why Buttler just completely shut his game and played with a dead-bat.
Buttler’s only motive was survival and to see the day off, which is the obvious gameplan whenever a team is trying to draw a test match, but according to Harmison, Jos Buttler just doesn’t know how to bat in test cricket, and he is never able to find the right gear when he is playing the longest format of the game.
Harmison is of the view that either Buttler attacks way too much in test cricket or he just completely goes into his shell, both of which is not the right way to go. It’s about finding the fluency as the innings goes on, rather than batting at a gear too high or too low.
“He (Buttler) doesn’t know how to bat in test match cricket. He just struggles to find a happy medium of getting in between,” Harmison said while talking to the former Australian spinner Brad Hogg on his youtube channel.
Jos Buttler averages just 32 with the bat in test cricket
While Jos Buttler is regarded as arguably the greatest white ball batsman England has ever produced, his record in test cricket is not of a very high standard. Although he is a wicketkeeper-batsman, his average of 32 in test cricket is still not up to the standard which is expected from the modern-day wicketkeeper batsmen.
England has got Jonny Bairstow in the Ashes squad who can also keep wickets and Bairstow is expected to be included in the playing XI for the Boxing Day test match as well, but Buttler is still likely to retain his place and keep wickets at MCG.
