Australia face the world’s most valuable ODI cricketer in their next match, ten days from now in Southampton. It’s not Virat Kohli, it is England’s slog-monster Jos Buttler.
The dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman was not in England’s first-choice team when the last World Cup began in Australia just over four years ago.
Buttler came into the XI late in that tournament and showed why he should have been there all along, hammering 39* from 19 balls against Sri Lanka, followed by 65 from 52 balls versus Bangladesh.
Since that dazzling return to the national team in March 2015, Buttler has been a wrecking ball, averaging 53 while maintaining an astonishing strike rate of 126.
To understand his consistency, consider that Buttler has scored 30-plus in almost half of his 61 innings in that time, including seven centuries.
Why have I chosen 30-plus as an indicator of consistency? Firstly because Buttler has played three-quarters of his innings at six or seven in a team with an incredibly strong batting lineup – meaning those down the order don’t often have long to bat.
Secondly, because Buttler’s rate of scoring in that time has been so rapid – 7.56 runs per over – that a late-innings knock of 30-odd is in fact very valuable.
Rarely in the history of ODIs has a batsman been able to pair such consistency with such a scorching rate of scoring.
West Indian master blaster Viv Richards was the first. Starting in 1975, Richards averaged 47 at a strike rate of 90 during an era in which most elite batsmen struck at no more than 65. For example, fellow Windies batting stars Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge had strike rates of 63 and 65, respectively.
The only other batsman who comes to mind is AB de Villiers. From 2010 to 2017, he averaged 66 at a strike rate of 110.
AB de Villiers (AAP Image/ Joe Castro)
Buttler, quite obviously, is a different kind of cricketer.
The South African legend batted mostly at number four, while Richards was stationed mostly at three or four. Buttler, by comparison, does most of his work in the final 20 overs of an innings, and is also a wicketkeeper (quite a solid one).
He has little time to settle, which is just fine because he doesn’t need it. Few batsmen I’ve seen can hit the ball as long and clean from their first delivery.
This is part of what intimidates bowlers and opposition captains so greatly. The Englishman offers his foes no grace period, no looseners. The small margin for error that exists for bowlers when tackling a well-set batsman is there from ball one against Buttler.
Offer a skerrick of width and he’ll find the off-side boundary. Drop a fraction short and he’ll lean back and lace a pull shot into the crowd. Over pitch a touch and his drive will race to the rope. Miss the yorker by an inch and he’ll get low, upon up his blade and utilise his freakishly strong wrists to whip the ball through cover.
It is that last shot which astonishes me. It’s also the one I imagine most messes with the confidence of bowlers – the fact that what would be an imperfect yet effective yorker to most batsmen is just more fodder for Buttler.
It was Buttler’s 360-degree batting range which prompted Mickey Arthur to comment this week: “I don’t know how you bowl to him”.
“I’ve just asked the bowlers the same thing and they didn’t have an answer either,” the Pakistan coach said.
“But I don’t think we’re going to stop him (Buttler), so we’ve got to try to get him out.”
Those comments came after the keeper made 110* from 55 balls against Pakistan on Saturday. Buttler came to the crease with just 14.5 overs left and yet managed to score a ton.
Most sides would have been happy to score 130 runs from their final 14.5 overs in such a situation, at a run rate of 8.8 runs per over. Instead, England managed to make 162 runs in that period because of the carnage caused by Buttler.
Those extra 32 runs were the difference in the end between a win and a loss for Pakistan, who fell 12 runs short.
Time and again it has been Buttler blitzkriegs in the final 20 overs that have propelled his side to totals which were beyond their opponents.
He demoralises bowlers, wrecks opposition plans, and in doing so creates a much easier environment for his batting partners. Oh and he keeps nicely as well.
Granted, Kohli is the most consistent batsman we’ve ever seen. He sets up, guides and finishes his team’s innings with aplomb.
But the Indian megastar does not tear games to shreds like Buttler. He also doesn’t have the all-round value to his team that the Englishman provides with his glovework.
It’s a close call – a mighty close call – but were I starting an ODI team from scratch, the first player I’d pick would be Jos Buttler.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Of course the top order are expected to shoulder the majority of the run making, but as Bevan and Dhoni have so ably demonstrated teams pick 6 for a reason. That reason isn't simply to swing with abandon when a score of 400 is in the offing. Six and seven have made valuable contributions to maximise the overs to get scores to 220 - 250 on tough wickets where the bowlers have something to defend in the context of that match. Sure Maxwell is making a few behind an in form top order, but a park cricketer should do that. The real value for Australia in a tournament against top sides every couple of days on different tracks is a middle order who can pick up the pieces when an opposition bowler has a day out against the top order. Once the ball inevitably deteriorates and the hot bowler has no overs left a savvy 6-7 rebuilds and sets new targets. Nobody has ever said Maxwell is capable of that, apologists always blame the top order and say he was left too much to do. Let's hope in the WC when a game comes along when a number 6-7 is needed to post a competitive score Maxwell plays his straight drive and uses the overs available, rather than playing like a 9 with delusions of grandeur unable to assess the situation at hand.
Paul
Roar Guru
I'm not criticizing his numbers TB, because he's clearly a rare talent having a great run with the bat. Batting down the order has it's advantages and disadvantages in terms of numbers. He's had 23 not out innings which has obviously helped the average, which I assume offsets the up & down scores he makes. I'll be watching his scores closely, now Ronan's posted this piece. It's going to be an interesting tournament for a number of players I suspect.
The Bush
Roar Guru
It's so hard to assess across generations though. Mark Waugh was an unbelievable opener in his time. His strike rate seems a bit pedestrian by today's standards, but it was top notch in his own time. He was also just about the world's best fielder at the time and classy "part time" bowler. Waugh, in ODIs, was one of those players who could just change a game at any moment. He'd have to be in consideration. The guys that are really special are the ones that changed the game or stood head and shoulders above their contemporaries (see Richards).
The Bush
Roar Guru
But aren't scores like that the nature of batting down the order? You don't have time to build innings, so you're never going to be "consistent". He still averaged 51 across that stint with half of the innings being above 30. That's a great return for someone batting beneath the top four.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
I agree for the most part mate If I were to create a team, I'd be opening with Gilchrist and Jayasuriya. They would be phenomenal together. Jayasuriya also gives you an extra bowling option.
Nick
Roar Guru
It's a team sport made of distinctly individual performances. The top order are expected to get more runs than Maxwell in ODI's. That is a fact. As you say, it's only been in recent months where they have started to deliver on that brief, coincidentally, the same time Maxwell has also been able to hit with more freedom and has in turn been in better form.
Nick
Roar Guru
Stuart MacGill is another unfortunate sod. As is Stuart Law. If only Australia A were allowed test status back in the 90's, early 2000's. A third string Australian team would have beaten all comers then. Gosh we had some depth.
Nick
Roar Guru
Yeah - Kohli, Richards, ABDV in that order. bevan, dhoni (and hussey) are clearly beneficiaries of not-outs inflating their averages. A deeper dive though on Dhoni is revealing. He has a fantastic record at position 4. He spent most of his days at 5/6...which shows a lot of versatility. Dhoni early on his career batted up the order and batted with brutality. He and Bevan were proven finishers, and Bevan arguably the best in the game at the rescue. But when picking a best XI, I'm taking a presumption the team wouldn't need rescuing all that much :p
The Bush
Roar Guru
But surely it'd be Kohli/Richards at 3/4 (I'm open to swapping them around to whatever works) and then DeV at 5? It's so hard to pick these things across eras. Bevan's SR wouldn't cut it today, but he was phenomenal and I would say, compared to his peers, better than Dhoni (with the bat anyway). Though I guess you'd argue the roles aren't the same (due to the way the games evolved)?
The Bush
Roar Guru
International sport is rough like that. Meanwhile some guys get to play hundreds of games because they're born in the "right" place.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I meant short - I’ve edited it for you.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
The top order failing isn't a number 6 or 7's fault, but they shoulder as much culpability for a loss as as all other batsmen. It's a team sport.
Nick
Roar Guru
It's not Maxwell's fault the team doesn't win. Lumping blame on him is unfair. When the top order fails - they deserve the blame. That goes for any team. Have a look at Buttler's record - of the 7 centuries he's hit in winning causes, 5 of them were when either two of the top 3 made quick 50's, or when one of the top 3 had made a century. He comes in on great platforms. The top order rarely fails when Buttler goes big. That's not to diminish Buttler abilities, but just saying Maxwell rarely gets that type of service from his top order.
Nick
Roar Guru
Fair enough on destructive – Gilly was indeed that. Although, on that measure…Jayasuriya was arguably better (and certainly the chief influence for Gilly). Jayasuriya played on way too long – his record in his prime was supremely good. Yup – DeVillers and Kohli are clearly better. No doubts there. Fortunately, there are 4 middle order slots. So, DeV, Kohli, Richards and Dhoni are my middle order. You’ve got pure destruction with DeV and Richards, sublime rapid run making with Kohli, and then you’ve got Dhoni who can move through the gears and bat according to the situation. Dean Jones would just miss out. Hussey was decent, but Dhoni was better. Ross Taylor….since his eye surgery he has been phenomenal. He’s definitely worthy of consideration. You are being exceptionally harsh on Sharma with his record. Sri Lanka weren’t yet the basketcase they became when he hit 264, and you’ve obviously forgotten one of his THREE double centuries came against Australia. Fun conversation to have though.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
A shot career?
The Bush
Roar Guru
What are you talking about, Shaun Tait averaged 23.56 and took 62 wickets across 35 ODI games. It was a short career sure, but that is elite stuff.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Shaun Tait won a World Cup too off the back of a purple patch in an ordinary ODI career too.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
That argument doesn't wash mate. As the Aussies have ramped up in the last couple of months, Maxwell has had a purple patch coming in behind centuries by Khawaja & Finch. Australia has benefited with wins from the team consistency that Maxwell has contributed to over this short period, but he wasn't winning games for Australia when the top order failed, Buttler has batting in a similar spot in the order. That's where he's been found wanting over his ODI career.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
I did say destructive, not necessarily better. Sehwag I can agree with, but Tendulkar was a lot more measured as an opener, more of a strokemaker than a power-hitter. And Sharma? Rohit Sharma? No way. Not yet, at least. Sharma has a phenomenal average, but that record has been inflated by enormous scores (like his 264) against lesser nations, such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Gilchrist always stepped up against the top teams. With respect to Dhoni, I can name De Villiers and Kohli who have better records than him. Michael Hussey and Ross Taylor are nearly on par. But in addition to him, Dean Jones, Javed Miandad and Viv Richards had records lesser than Dhoni, but in a tougher era to bat. They, as attacking batsmen, paved the way for players like Dhoni. I'd be happy to rank them above MS as well. Just my opinion though.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Yep, Buttler is pretty amazing. The knock against Pakistan was a fantastic example. Ronan is right to compare him with Viv Richards. Anyone wondering whether Viv’s scoring rate of 90 sounds a bit ho-hum needs to be aware that 1. scores have gone up 10-20% since they brought in 2 new balls for ODIs in 2011;2. boundaries have been brought in a good 5-10 % since Viv’s day; and 3. the big bats they’ve been using in the last 15 years can hit the ball at least 10% further, so a lot more sixes hit. Tough to compare Maxwell with Buttler - its really hard to keep hitting like that without taking risks and making errors.