Jos Buttler investment begins to return dividends for England

The headlines, quite rightly, will be dominated by Zak Crawley. Even before his epic innings was recognised on Twitter by Sourav Ganguly, even before he made it into the top ten of England's highest scores, even before anyone had realised that only four men* - three of them subsequently knighted - had made 250s in Test cricket at a younger age, it had become apparent that a major new talent had announced itself to the game.

This is, you suspect, what it was like to see David Gower or Mike Atherton or Peter May register their first Test centuries. Yes, it's high praise. But it was also a high-class innings. If Crawley isn't playing Test cricket well into the 2030s, something will have gone very wrong.

At the other end - for most of the time, anyway - was a man playing an innings that might prove almost as significant, both from a personal and team perspective.

For England have invested a huge amount in Jos Buttler. They stuck by him when he averaged 29.66 in the Caribbean. They stuck by him when he averaged 24.70 in the Ashes. They stuck by him when he averaged 16.42 in South Africa. At one stage, from the start of 2019 to July 20, 2020, he had averaged 23.00 across 15 Tests.

Most of all, though, they stuck with him when his keeping started to become unstuck. When he dropped a match-defining chance in the first Test of this summer - Jermaine Blackwood on 20; he went on to make 95 - for example, and when he missed three chances off Dom Bess in the first Test of this series in Manchester.

In another era - an era when England once picked 29 players in a series or four captains in a summer - Buttler would have been toast long ago. And Buttler knows it. There were times, not least in South Africa, when he looked as if all the confidence and joy had leaked from his game.

"A couple of games ago I was thinking I was about to get dropped," he admitted after play on Saturday. "I've certainly questioned myself in the last few weeks.

It may have been the lockdown that saved him. Not only did it provide him with a mental break, it prevented any rivals putting together performances that might have usurped him. As a result, he won another opportunity with spirits revived.

"I really missed cricket in lockdown," he said. "I enjoyed the break, but when you come back you realise how much you want to play and how much playing for England is a pleasure. It was good to reflect on my batting and some things I needed to improve.

"I've found a good headspace to hang in there. You've got to maintain that belief in yourself and this just proves you're never far away. You're never too far away from good things or bad things. Things can change fast. It's that positive outlook and belief that you can do good things that has served me well in the last few weeks."

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This innings does not answer all the questions about Buttler's position. For a start, his long-term record with the bat - he averages 33.90 and now has two centuries in 47 Tests - remains modest. Quite a few county stalwarts who have never won a Test cap - the likes of James Hildreth, Daryl Mitchell or Nick Browne - might fancy themselves to match those numbers if given the same opportunity.

Equally, his role as an allrounder also requires him to keep and reasonable doubts remain about his ability to do so to the standard required. That is the case standing up to the wicket, in particular. With tours to Sri Lanka and India looming, Ben Foakes' hopes of a recall are not completely dashed.

But the evidence of recent weeks suggests Buttler has found a way to be a bit more consistent with the bat. Having not made a 50 in 14 innings (at one stage he went eight innings without making 30), he has now made 67, 38, 75 and 152 in successive completed innings.

And while that 75, in Manchester, was full of the invention and strokes that have made him such a valuable white-ball player - remember those reverse-sweeps out of the footholes off Yasir Shah? - this was a far more conventional Test innings containing long periods of quiet accumulation in a supporting role to Crawley. Having reached his century in 189 balls, his final 52 runs occupied another 122 balls. At one stage, he went 106 balls between boundaries. That, in perspective, is 60 balls more than it once took him to score an ODI century against this team.

The result? It was not only his highest score in any form of the game - his previous highest score (150) came, ridiculously, really, in an ODI - but his longest innings by a huge margin. Seven-and-a-half hours, in all.

"It's nice to prove to myself that I can bat for that long," he said. "I was just trying to make it last as long as possible. It's definitely the first time I've faced that many balls."

How has he turned things around? Well, there are various explanations. One is that this summer has offered a rare opportunity to focus on his red-ball game for six successive Tests without the distraction of any white-ball cricket. He hasn't hit a white ball since England's T20I series in South Africa. And while he suggested he usually takes confidence from his white-ball batting into Test cricket, the results suggest the opportunity to focus - mentally and technically - solely on his long-form batting has proved beneficial.

"Test cricket would be No. 3 in terms of my strength," he said. "In previous years I took a lot of confidence from white-ball cricket. Scoring runs in that format and being able to bring that confidence into Test cricket has served me well.

"But 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."

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There would appear to have been a technical adjustment, too. Instead of closing himself off behind a planted front foot, he has worked to remain a little more open and a little more leg-side of the ball. As a result, his balance is better and seems to play across the line less and straighter more often. Only one of his 13 fours was hit to the leg side. It will be interesting to see if he reverts to his previous methods when he returns to the white-ball game.

"I've just been trying to hit on-drives," he said. "I know if I can hit that shot I'm in a really good position. Joe [Root] has given me a lot of confidence as a captain. He has a lot of belief in me and that's shone through.

"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's given me a lot of confidence as a captain, and he has a lot of belief in me, and that's shone through."

Indeed, it has. Root and the rest of the England management have invested heavily in Buttler. In recent days, that faith has started to pay.

*You were wondering about the four younger men to have scored 250 in Tests, weren't you? Well, they were Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Len Hutton and Graeme Smith. It's decent company, isn't it?