Buttler’s return to opening shows why England can’t move him again

Last week, Jos Buttler celebrated his 35th birthday, which is significant because it makes him the experienced player in a youthful batting line-up for England. In Dublin, during the T20I series against Ireland, Buttler stood out as the only player in England’s top seven to be over 30 years old, alongside 21-year-olds Jacob Bethell, who is captaining for the first time, and Rehan Ahmed – the contrast could not have been larger.

Opening the Door to Success for England 

This inevitably begs the question that England may not want to answer: will next year’s T20 World Cup be Buttler’s last – seventh – T20 World Cup? So far, he shows no sign of slowing down and even if only Nicholas Pooran has more T20 worldwide runs than Buttler this calendar year, none of this mentions Buttler’s destructive play, as shown in his 30-ball-83 against South Africa, as well as absolutely obliterating Ireland’s Graham Hume in Malahide. Nevertheless, Buttler is exactly the same age that Eoin Morgan was when he walked away at the end of 2022.

For England, the issue is not when Buttler will leave, it is about how to capitalise on what he still has left. Recently, England's games have reiterated the importance about having Buttler at the very top of the order, alongside Phil Salt. After 12 months of experimentation of whether Buttler could bat at No. 3 across T20Is, the IPL, the Blast, and the Hundred, the fact he is back opening the batting again has been something of a 'revelation.' 

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"But going out at 0 for 0 you have had that full Powerplay," Buttler said. "That is fun! I am happy to bat anywhere but opening gives you that opportunity in the first six overs," and the stats support him. Buttler averages 53.58 in the Powerplay as an opener, striking at 155.31, and I can imagine there are not too many players in world cricket that can produce as much consistency and explosiveness as Buttler can.

Why England Must Support Their Successful Partnership

The partnership with Salt has also proven to be one of the strongest in T20. Their 126-run stand off just 47 balls against South Africa was followed up with 74 off 28 balls against Ireland, making them the first England openers to pass 1,000 runs as a pair. Salt puts it simply: "We feed off each other. I tried to start aggressively and then Jos comes in with his own style. The more we bat together, the easier it comes." 

Across 46 short-form innings together for England, Lancashire, and Manchester Originals, Buttler and Salt must be ranked as one of the most productive opening pairs in T20 history. For England, to keep them together feels like the obvious move. Duckett may go back to No. 3 and other batters, including Dawson and Foakes, would wait their time but the value of the relationship between Buttler and Salt surely weighs heavier than those other factors. 

Next year's World Cup will likely take England to India, where Buttler knows well from his decade in the IPL will probably be his swan-song tournament or not, and there could be and probably will be significant weight of expectation put on him. At 35 years old, he is still England's match-winner and they have to create as many opportunities as they can for him to cause damage.