Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler - English Wicket-Keeper
Jos Buttler was born on September 8, 1990 in Taunton, England. He is vice-captain of the national team and performs similar functions in one of the IPL clubs – the Rajasthan Royals (limited overs format).
Jos Buttler: youth career
He is considered one of the best batsmen in the white ball game, but appears more often on the field as a wicket-keeper in test events, ODI and T20I. He possesses a unique vision of the field, for which he received the nickname “360 Degree Cricketer”. Famed sports journalist George Dobell spoke of him as follows:
Jos is an exceptionally gifted batsman, both powerful and wide-ranging, capable of staggering any attack. Of course, it sometimes happens that in matches where he is confronted by the best bowlers, his tendency to improvise fails, but he is so unorthodox that he can benefit even from that.
He set his first records as a student at King’s College in Taunton. Under his leadership, the team of the educational institution won 16 victories out of 17 possible. Therefore, the young athlete was recognized as “Cricketer of the Year” by the Young Wisden Schools at the end of the year. Around the same time, he received an invitation to the Somerset first team and the national team (U-19).
Jos Buttler: career
Jos’ actual debut for the Somerset came in September 2009, when he had to replace the injured Justin Langer in the next county championship draw. However, his game was so convincing that the headquarters soon decided to give him a chance to try himself at a long distance. Buttler made his first hundred in the fourth match for the club, but did not limit himself to personal achievements: in the game against the Sussex, he updated the team record for batsmen paired with James Hildreth. Later, with his help, the Somerset made it to the Friends Provident T20 semi-finals and then reached the Clydesdale Bank 40 final and the T20 Cup.
The Somerset made the final of both competitions again in the 2011 season, and Jos received the prestigious NBC Denis Compton Award as Most Promising Newcomer. The next year turned out to be successful for the young cricketer, although his place at the base remained in question. Regularly receiving praise for his precocious play, Buttler actually remained the replacement for Craig Kieswetter, which categorically did not suit him. He postponed the signing of the contract several times and finally decided to leave the team so as not to risk a place in the England cricket team.
The player’s calculation was justified: joining the Lancashire in the fall of 2013, Jos not only fought for the main trophy in T20, where the team reached the final, but also received an invitation to the national team for test matches. Lancashire offered him a new three-year contract in May 2016.
Jos has repeatedly tried his hand at other leagues, having played in Australia and India, in particular:
- the Somerset (2009-2013);
- the Melbourne Renegades (2013-2014);
- the Lancashire (since 2014);
- the Mumbai Indians (2016-2017);
- the Comilla Victorians (2017);
- the Sydney Thunder (2017-2019);
- the Rajasthan Royals (since 2018).
Jos Buttler: performing internationally
Jos Buttler received a call to the national team for the T20I competition in the fall of 2011. Taking part in the regular series against teams from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, he made his ODI debut the following year. In the match against South Africa, Jos managed to form a successful bond with the Somerset’s teammate and rival Craig Kieswetter. The young cricketer’s game was so highly appreciated that he established himself in the main team on ODI and received an invitation to the next ICC World Twenty20 draw.
Battler is finally determined with his role in the national team in the seasons 2013-2014. Playing regularly in T20 and ODI matches, he soon credits the first hundred and takes an active part in the ICC Champions Trophy.
A year later, Jos breaks the ODI Hundreds Record. After the injury of the main wicket goalkeeper Matt Pryor, he was called up for test matches against India. The confident play allowed Battler to count on a place in the base at the 2015 World Cup, but England did not manage to get out of the group there, so the new achievements of the cricketer did not receive due recognition.
Jos Buttler regularly regularly appeared in test draws in subsequent seasons, although he was increasingly criticized. He was doing better on ODI – for example, in the match against New Zealand, he renewed the team record (129/77). After falling out of the test loop for a while, Battler retained a place in T20 and ODI: so, in particular, in the fall of 2016, he led the British in a series against the Bangladesh. Unfortunately, an attempt to return to the game in a test format in the fall of the same year turned out to be unsuccessful – the team again showed disappointing results.
Jos returned to the test team only in 2018. He had an almost flawless streak against the Pakistan, hitting two hundred and recorded more runs than any other player in the position. A little later, he managed to provide the British on ODI with an unprecedented “clean streak”, having received two nominations following the results of the drawing – “Player of the Match” and “Player of the Series”.
Jos replaced James Anderson as vice-captain of the test team in the same season. He retained this post a year later when the British went to the World Cup. Despite the fact that it took the experienced cricketer some time to build up, he ultimately played a significant role in the final victory of the national team in the tournament.
