Cook hails explosive Buttler

Jos Buttler produced an explosive innings to save England from a series whitewash
6 June 2013

Alastair Cook predicted England fans will see a lot more of Jos Buttler's thrilling strokeplay in the future after his stunning cameo saw England to a 34-run win over New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Buttler was outscored by both Ian Bell (82) and Eoin Morgan (49) but there was no doubt who turned the course of the match and set England on course for a face-saving victory at the third attempt. The Somerset wicketkeeper finished 47 not out from just 16 balls, a brief stay that nevertheless included three sixes and six fours.

Without them England would have fallen well short of their eventual 287 for six, a total they defended by bowling the Black Caps out for 253. Cook, for one, expects more of the same. "It's not going to happen every single time, we know that, but it's great to have that talent, the potential and the firepower to do that," he said of Buttler's contribution.

"We've all seen him play those shots time and time again in the nets. We've seen him do it a number of times for Somerset and we're going to see him do it a lot more for England.

"It's a special talent and a talent he's worked very hard on. It's great credit to him because it's a skill that needs to be practised."

Buttler's early experiences of one-day internationals have not always been so successful and he averages only 16.83 from seven innings to date. He has almost boundless potential, though, and admitted he enjoyed a good day at the office.

"I haven't quite performed as I'd have wanted in the one-dayers so it was great to put in a performance like that," he said. "I'm confident in my own ability and it was great to come in and show that."

New Zealand will exit the series pleased to have upset the odds by taking a 2-1 success, but captain Brendon McCullum believes an even more impressive whitewash was within sight.

"It's disappointing that we didn't get the result because if we strip back that game we were excellent for probably 90% of it," he said. "I thought we were good for the majority of the day but Jos Buttler's innings was world class and to concede 76 off four overs at the end - you've got to acknowledge some excellent batting.

"With a player as destructive as Buttler there can be no room for error and he played a magnificent innings."

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