Jos Buttler has been dubbed the best active T20 international batsman by former Australian bowler Brad Hogg. The England wicketkeeper is presently the tournament’s third-highest run scorer and has been instrumental in the team’s dominance thus far.
One of Buttler’s best qualities, according to Hogg, is his ability to stay on the wicket and adapt to the match scenario. On a sluggish Sharjah surface, the England vice-captain bailed England out of trouble against Sri Lanka with a century.
“Jos Buttler, for me, is the best T20 batsman going around in international cricket right now. He is always a cool cucumber under pressure and even when the conditions are not in his favour, he takes his time to settle and then take risks.” Hogg said
Jos Buttler
With 214 runs, Jos Buttler is the leading run scorer in the Super 12s stage of the tournament. He entered the event despite missing the second leg of the 2021 IPL and even wore the captain’s hat against India in their first warm-up match.
The current World Cup has seen a trend in which teams batting second have fared better than teams batting first. While the dew factor is a contributing aspect, Hogg believes that the method used by teams batting first has also played a role.
“Teams batting first are losing it in the powerplay. They are trying to find too many boundaries and are not rotating strike enough. Batsmen have to stop hunting for boundaries and instead try to convert the ones into twos and limit the dot balls. This puts pressure on opposition bowlers who bowl loose deliveries while trying to do something different.” Hogg added
“Best exponent of this was Jos Buttler against Sri Lanka. He batted right through the innings. He conserved his innings. The longer you bat in tough conditions, the easier it gets and he proved that.” Hogg elaborated
In the T20 World Cup, the pitches have been a little slower. The Abu Dhabi surface, on the other hand, has some pace to it, which the batters have taken advantage of as the ball comes off the bat wonderfully.
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