Jos Buttler thrives in role as facilitator to set record with Zak Crawley as England dominate Pakistan

Pair combined for a monstrous shared stand of 359 runs

Zak Crawley (left) and Jos Buttler put up a shared stand of 359 runs – an England record (Getty)

It is not often Jos Buttler is relegated to the smaller stage. But as Saturday was dominated by Zak Crawley and his masterful 267, it was Buttler’s off-broadway turn as a facilitator rather than the firestarter that was just as worthy of glowing reviews.

For Buttler batted as long as he ever has done in a first-class innings, negotiating 311 balls in just under seven-and-a-half hours. The most important numbers are 152 and a second Test hundred, but those at the start will mean a great deal to him.

To say it felt “proper” seems a tad reductive given the 17 half-centuries that have not been converted to three figures contain plenty of worth. But even the man himself – fresh from a monster 359-run stand with Crawley for the fifth wicket, in which he was the understudy even though he struck 13 fours and two sixes – chose to see it that way.

“Yeah, I think so,” Buttler answered when asked if this was the most “to type” Test innings of his 82 so far. “I had a really clear gameplan.

“That’s really the crux of it, adapting that to any given scenario and sticking to it. I actually felt like I lost my rhythm a bit, maybe would have liked to have been a bit more positive, lost a bit of energy in my batting. It’s the best I’ve felt at the crease yesterday, really balanced. When I’m in tempo I leave the ball well.

“I was just trying to make it last as long as possible. It felt really good out there, and knowing the position we’re in in the series, if we can pile on some first-rinning runs, it would make the option of Pakistan winning the game really tough for them. It’s a really good wicket as well, one of the better wickets we’ve played on, and it’s definitely the first time I’ve faced that many balls. It’s nice to prove to myself that I can bat for that long.”

These peculiar times have probably helped Buttler more than most. Being part of this bubble of players for Test series against West Indies and Pakistan has meant a cricketer consistently pulled three different ways has been able to channel his focus solely on the toughest gig of the lot.

“If I look at my game, Test cricket would be No3 in terms of my strength,” he ceded, which is no great revelation, even if it is important to remember that is mostly because of his remarkable feats in one-day and Twenty20 cricket. But knowing he would be used as a red ball specialist for the first time in his career has hone his preparation accordingly.

“I’ve worked on a few things during the period of lockdown,” said Buttler. “It was good to reflect on my batting and some things I needed to improve. I felt good at the crease. A lot of my practice is outcome-based, so I’ve just been trying to hit on-drives. I know if I can hit that shot I’m in a really good position. Joe [Root]’s given me a lot of confidence as a captain, and he has a lot of belief in me, and that’s shone through.

“It’s been nice to have a real training block, it’s not something you have very often. You’re often planning your training around the next match in a couple of days. To start gradually thinking about things you’d like to improve, and focus on your batting, it’s been a really beneficial thing for me to work a few things out. And it’s been nice to get some rewards.”

Buttler has been adept behind the stumps as well as in front of them. (Getty Images)

As it happens, the last time Buttler hit a white ball in anger was in South Africa in a Twenty20 on 16 February. In fact, it was the last of 14 T20 matches he has played since the start of 2019, which includes concentrated periods at the Big Bash League and Indian Premier League. Though he is itching to use the white balls he carries with him in his cricket bag, the red ones are treating him well.

He currently has 416 runs this summer, second behind Zak Crawley (417), with an average of 52. Even the two fifties that accompany this hundred carry just as much worth. The first a 67 in the third and decisive Test match against West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford that formed a crucial 140-run partnership with Ollie Pope when England were 122 for four. The second a match-winning 75 to help chase 277 in the first Test of this series.

The structure of the England batting line-up is looking a good deal more solid for them, especially with Buttler playing so engagingly at number six. It is, statistically, his best position: now averaging 49.88 here, dwarfing a career average of 33.90, with both centuries achieved from this position.

The importance of this one is also in the fact it was in the first innings and as the designated wicketkeeper, which will both embolden and empower him. Though that might sound like a death knell for Ben Foakes’ immediate Test ambitions, it really should not be.

With England playing Sri Lanka and India in Asia at the start of 2021, Covid-19 pending, there is no reason Foakes could not come in and take over behind the stumps in conditions where immaculate glovework is a necessity.

Because Buttler now is not only pulling his weight as a persona, more pronounced as he operates as vice-captain in the absence of Ben Stokes. He is also owning his spot in this Test XI as a batsman outright.