Buttler fired an unbeaten 73 as England swept past Sri Lanka by eight wickets in Tuesday’s one-off Twenty20 clash in Southampton.
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England’s all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson was ruled out of a 12-man squad announced Thursday for next week’s first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s.
“The word probably is conviction”, said Buttler of why he was dropped from Test duty after England’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October. “I can’t talk, my ball will talk”. England go on to win the series 3-2. “And he can be a match-winner in England”.
His experiences of the past year, however, suggest he will be up to the task against Pakistan in this week’s first Investec Test at Lord’s.
Ahead of the squad being named, there was a suggestion that Stokes could be included to play as a batsman while Jos Buttler’s name was also linked to a batting position following his impressive limited-overs form.
At least he is expected to visit Lord’s today or tomorrow and can pass on tips to uncapped duo Jake Ball, 25, of Nottinghamshire and Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones, 28.
Broad and England were given an early indication of what might be in store on the Lord’s surface when they were held to a draw – albeit rain-affected – during the third Test of the Sri Lanka series last month, having bundled their rivals out for scores of 91, 119 and 101 in their first three innings of the series at Headingley and Chester-le-Street.
Buttler believes his Indian Premier League stint not only helped him get over his Test exclusion, but also boosted his confidence no end. “You have the bases covered”, he said.
“I don’t think I have got the power (to control crowd reaction)”.
“It doesn’t change that the game’s about scoring runs”.
“It’s taking a bit of time to settle in, but I’m really excited about the prospect of playing for England and can’t wait to meet up with the rest of the team and get involved”.
“I think he was like King Lear, “more sinned against than sinning”, explained Brearley, the former England captain, in a reference to the Shakespeare play. That’s now translating into my cricket.
Jan 15: Amir returns to global cricket, in a Twenty20 against New Zealand in Auckland.
But Azhar told Cricinfo after a warm-up game against Somerset: “He’s played a lot of cricket since his comeback, so things have settled down a lot”.
“So we have to start looking at him as a bowler and how we can negate that”. “Everyone should look forward”.
He agreed to bowl no-balls at specific points during the match in exchange for money as gamblers bet large sums on proceedings with inside information.
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Pietersen, who was among the England team that played the infamous Test, wrote in his latest column for a London-based daily that spot-fixers should be banned for life and that they should not be given a second chance.
