As a Somerset fan, I'm no stranger to the limited-over cricket talents of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler. Still only 20, he first got his opportunity to break into the first team when another very young player Craig Kieswetter earned his international call-up two years ago. Since then his lower-order striking has often meant Somerset simply couldn't ignore him and have played him as a specialist batsman alongside Kieswetter. Indeed the county has such an embarrassment of riches that it can switch the 'keeper's role between the two. Now, with Buttler named in England's T20 squad, Somerset will be without both of them, but hopefully not for this weekend's finals day at Edgbaston where they are looking for revenge over Hampshire!
A friend of mine first spotted Joseph Charles Buttler as a young teenager on the village green at Wedmore and reckoned he could be a genuine talent. How right he was. At first he excelled for Somerset in all three formats and, despite not maintaining that record in the Championship, his List A career batting average is an astonishing 68.9 from 22 innings. Nobody with more than 50 innings under their belt has ever achieved more than Michael Bevan's 57.86. Batting at around six or seven, Buttler's clean hitting and wonderful eye means that he rarely fails and is often still there at the end of the innings, hence the fact that half his innings have been not out. In T20, his average is a healthy 25 but of greater note is his strike rate of more than 145. That's better than Gilchrist, Jayasuriya and Ryder. In List A fixtures, his rate is, incredibly, even higher, at more than 147. That's way above what the likes of Sehwag or Pollard have done in ODIs, but of course it's early days for the Somerset youngster. Indeed, Buttler credits the West Indian with helping him when forging rapid partneships for Somerset in T20 last year. Jos also seems quite grounded and it was heartening to see him standing a few feet away from me during a rain break at Taunton a few weeks ago, chatting and signing autographs. I hope the international recognition doesn't go to his head!
As for Hales, he was my Player of the Week earlier this summer, finally converting good scores into centuries for Nottinghamshire. Unlike Buttler, 22 year-old Alex looks equally adept opening innings in any form of cricket, playing for the Lions in first-class cricket as well as 50-overs games. Unfortunately he had a disastrous sequence of scores in the latter against Sri Lanka and hasn't been as strong in CB40 this summer. However, in the Friends Life T20 competition, he has amassed 544 runs, the second highest aggregate so far, with a strike rate of 147.
I don't see why he couldn't open with Kieswetter, although I suppose England may opt for Bopara at the top of the innings. They've kept faith with Pietersen in the T20 squad but have 'rested' him from the ODIs. Definitely not 'dropped'. No, no, no. Yeah, right! Hales' Notts colleague Samit Patel will probably play because of the added dimension provided by his off-spin and it is possible that neither of the new boys will make the final XI against India, unless Ben Stokes and possibly Steve Finn are stood down. However, I hope both soon get the chance to demonstrate their talents to a wider audience, although the Somerset supporter in me hopes we don't lose him to a central contract just yet!
