He made his first-class debut against Lancashire at Taunton in 2009 and became a regular in the County Championship from May 2010 - playing a part in Somerset's title challenge that season. Somerset gained special permission from the ECB to add him to their Academy at 12, two years early, and he came to prominence as a 19-year-old in the 2010 season for Somerset, especially in the one-day arena where his clear-minded and quick-footed aggressive batting helped him to 440 CB40 runs at 55.00. As Buttler and his old friend Alex Hales knocked off a target of 170 with four overs and 10 wickets to spare against India in the semi-final at Adelaide, it seemed bizarre that his promotion to open the batting for England's T20 team on a permanent basis in 2018 had been so controversial at the time.īuttler was in the crowd at Taunton as a young spectator during the 1999 World Cup when India's Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid thrashed what was then the highest partnership in ODI cricket. Later in the year, after taking over from Eoin Morgan as England's white-ball captain, he led them to their second men's T20 World Cup title as they achieved their long-stated ambition to hold both World Cups simultaneously. In 2022, he hit 863 runs in the IPL - the second-most in a single season - including four centuries to take Rajasthan Royals to the final. Such was his impact for Mumbai Indians in his first appearance in IPL in 2016, capable of mayhem late in the innings, that for a young cricket follower in India with only Twenty20 in their heart, it was possible to imagine that England had rarely, if ever, produced a player of such star quality.Īs he entered his 30s, Buttler reached a new level in short-form cricket, becoming indisputably one of the world's best T20 batters. Like his captain, Eoin Morgan, his unflustered response to even the most daunting run chase is one of his greatest assets, his steely resolve hidden beneath a benign exterior. Softly-spoken and unassuming, with supple hands and a great eye, Buttler kills opposing attacks with kindness, with a graceful flip shot for six over long-on and the occasional resort to a nerveless ramp shot over the wicketkeeper among his most eye-catching shots in an inventive repertoire. He has also shone at the IPL, and quickly became a senior player in the Test side since his surprise recall in 2018. In an 18-month period from mid-2014, he scored what at the time were England's three fastest one-day hundreds - thrilling innings against Sri Lanka at Lord's, New Zealand at Edgbaston and, topping the list, a 46-ball onslaught against Pakistan in Dubai. Buttler helped bring England's limited-overs batting into the 21st century, his impact on the one-day and T20 sides extraordinary as they turned a group-stage exit in the 2015 World Cup into a triumph on home soil four years later, with his efforts with the bat and the gloves crucial to their Super-Over victory in the final. England have had many players down the ages who have gained world acclaim, but Jos Buttler is arguably their first global Twenty20 superstar.
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