Don’t blame Jos Buttler for his 18-ball duck

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At the start of this year, it was hard to escape the feeling that one of England’s most rarefied talents had learned to convert his gifts into consistent success in a tryout. After years in which English cricket had questioned whether Jos Buttler could thrive in the five-day arena, he left Chennai on February 9 with an average of 64.6 in his last seven tests. Increasingly, the hallmark of Buttler the trial cricketer, like Buttler the Titan for a Day, was his adaptability.

It seemed that Buttler had become one of the few modern cricketers capable of bridging the gap between the three formats and thriving for his country in all three. Had the road here been more twisty than expected, Buttler had shown tremendous skill, courage and willpower to develop his test game when he was already a white ball game superstar. . He left India with England 1-0, having won three consecutive tryouts and six of their last eight, in which they were unbeaten.

Buttler returned to the testing side on Wednesday, after seven months, to examine a very different scene. In his absence, England had lost four – and won none – of their previous five tests. He was greeted with a scorecard of the kind England could feel entitled to patent: 138-5, with Joe Root the only source of significant resistance.

At that point, Buttler encountered one of the most intimidating venues in world cricket, regardless of the color of the ball: Jasprit Bumrah. Bending the ball like a conjurer, Bumrah spent his next three passes passing the ball past Buttlers in and out of the rims. Scoreless in his first 17 deliveries – although he could have been absent at least twice, a slice in the air or a late Yorkie who narrowly missed the stump – Buttler then moved forward tentatively until his 18th. This time the ball hugged the edge en route to Rishabh Pant – and England were a bit closer to their abject destination of 183 all.

Yet, in a sense, none of this is really Buttlers fault. In the seven months since the first test in Chennai, between a long quarantine, the Indian Premier League, the Hundreds and England’s limited games, Buttler has not played a first-class game. And so a player who has always needed time to readjust to the pace of Test cricket – throughout his career, Buttler averages just 25.4 in the Test Series opener, but 38.8 subsequently – was denied the chance to find it.

While it’s easy to see Buttlers’ struggles at Trent Bridge as proof of his limitations as a test player, proof of last year and a test average when he keeps the wicket just a few steps away. ‘Alec Stewart and Brendon McCullum, suggest otherwise. Instead, the Buttlers failure is best viewed as a microcosm of larger issues in the English game: a system failure.

The litany of issues is extremely familiar. A county championship in which the challenges bear little resemblance to the demands of the test game. A shortage of first-class matches in the height of summer, an issue that predates the Hundred: England’s six batsmen from three to eight hadn’t even faced a lone ball in first-class cricket since the loss of the series against New Zealand seven weeks ago. And, perhaps more than anything, just too much cricket. While Covid-19 has exacerbated these challenges, it has not caused them.

As India recalled, as if necessary, how exceptional and versatile their bowling attack was, central irony was inevitable. As India has been training with red balls in England for nearly two months, including in the High Octane Test World Championship final against New Zealand, the team of England for Trent Bridge met just four days ago. Perhaps never has a touring team been so better prepared than its hosts; England could hardly have been accommodating if their players had been served up with vodka before entering the pitch.

And so, for all the temptation to vilify top-notch clichés from England, the anger is better directed elsewhere. On opening day at Trent Bridge, England was defeated as much by the failings of its own administrators as by the infallible excellence of India.

On the dock: the Englands suspect six accused of having wasted their wicket

By Isabelle Westbury

Sometimes it turns out that sport can be scripted. Everything England fans feared would come to fruition with his fragile batting team did, as the hosts were beaten by under 200 at Trent Bridge. It was almost as if England predicted it too, sacrificing bowling options in an effort to add extra dough and bolster their first order. High risk for no reward as it turned out.

Rory burns

The one man we thought, or hoped, could inject anything solid into the fragile top three broke that notion before England even had any points on the board. While no one has to envy the stick opening against Jasprit Bumrah’s spear deliveries, you can’t open up in Test Cricket and play on your front leg. In the past, a left bat might have thought LBW was a distant possibility for the right arm, but not now, not with the DRS. The worst possible start.

Verdict: Guilty

Dom Sibley

No surprise whose strike rate offered to crush the Indians, Sibley once again the slowest goalscorer in England. Which would not have troubled England if he had stayed and had, in fact, reduced opposition. Eighteen 70-ball races and dropping right after lunch wasn’t the job he was assigned to do. Again, faced with this caliber of attack, on these terrains, it is perhaps a profession that demands too much. Poor guy.

Verdict: not guilty

Zak Crawley

Awesome white ball shape entering the test, the question was still whether Crawley could convert that shape to this difficult format. Things looked bright for much of the morning session, with a few tight practices, but it was the spirit of the test match that ultimately escaped number three, playing too loose, too often. As a mitigation, Crawley took the full brunt of a magical spell from Mohammad Siraj, which had already garnered huge appeal and scrutiny from India just three balls away before stabbing the keeper one. He was also defending.

Verdict: not guilty

Jonny bairstow

The bullish Yorkshireman dispelled all the early demons (four ducks in his last five innings against India) to display England’s highest partnership with Joe Root. An experienced comfort blanket for the beleaguered England captain, Bairstow looked good for much of the afternoon session. But technique matters, and while Bairstow is determined to play Test cricket, he must also prove his determination to adapt his technique. An off-stump setup has delivered more cons than benefits lately, trapping lbw just as it was getting underway.

Verdict: Guilty

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