When discussing Jos Buttler’s lack of red-ball cricket in the lead-up to his Test return, England’s stock phrase was that it was not ideal. When it came to pass, on the first day in Mohali, the situation that greeted the No7’s arrival at the crease was much the same.
A morning of self-inflicted wounds by the touring batsmen in the watery-grey sunshine of northern India in autumn meant England were 92 for four at lunch and, having thus blown a key victory at the toss, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes found themselves rebuilding the innings.
With a dance down the wicket and huge swish of fresh air, Stokes became the latest Englishman to commit hara-kiri, stumped off the left-arm spin of Ravi Jadeja for 29, to end a stand of 57 and earn a needless send-off from Virat Kohli. All of a sudden, with England 144 for five, it was Buttler time.
When he normally strides out to the middle with 44 overs bowled, England tend to have had a good day. But this not the cricket in which he is among the most feared in the world, through those hockey-style thwacks and a breakneck strike-rate; rather the format where in his previous 12 innings 30 was passed just once, in something of an identity crisis.
It was this flatlining run that led to him being dropped as Test wicketkeeper last year, with the gloves handed to Bairstow. While the switch has allowed the Yorkshireman to fly, the man he replaced found himself ushered into white-ball specialism, playing two first-class innings for Lancashire in the process.
Thus England, having already dispensed with two middle-order players on tour, now find themselves playing their joker at No7 in hope rather than expectation.
With a crowd not dissimilar in number to a Championship match at Old Trafford in September, due only in part to the cash crisis in India caused by the demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, Buttler was at least not walking into a cauldron.
But with five wickets down and the home side swarming, this was also a far cry from the contrived scenarios he has been facing in the nets. While the England head coach, Trevor Bayliss, believes Buttler’s best approach is to bat like a one-day player, this was not the time. With security coming via the glow of Bairstow’s bat at the other, the right-hander was understandably circumspect instead.
A cambered outfield of short-trimmed grass meant boundaries were there to be had and after holding firm against the spinner initially, Buttler was able to get a couple away off the seamer Umesh Yadav. Neither entirely inspired confidence, squirting through the slip and gully region, but at least his tally was moving.
Slowly but surely, and during a five-over spell of reverse swing from Yadav that will give England’s bowlers some hope, Buttler found some rhythm with the next three boundaries flying off the blade and through cover in more positive fashion. By tea, Buttler sat 38 not out and, with the score 205 for five, his was a key role in support of Bairstow.
Then came the rub, with India’s post-tea plan to bowl dry outside off stump offering fewer scoring options and, in an attempt to force the issue, Buttler plopped Jadeja to a running Kohli at extra cover on 43. Having faced 80 balls and added 69 for the sixth wicket – the highest stand of the day – it felt a slightly tame finish.
“I maybe got a little bit caught in between. That’s always going to be the challenge for me,” said Buttler, giving an honest assessment of the battle he faces when quizzed by Sky’s Ian Ward, England’s last specialist batsman at No7 – one that does not bowl, keep wicket or been nudged down by a nightwatchman – at Lord’s in 2001.
Visible to the north of Mohali on a less hazy day are the Sivaliks, the foothills of the Himalayas, and we remain in similar territory in terms of Buttler’s comeback. His true Test identity will take time to form but in the context of England’s wobbling first innings, and given a lack of relevant cricket behind him, it was an encouraging start nonetheless.
