Guernsey Press

Has Jos Buttler earned the title of England’s greatest white-ball player?

The wicketkeeper will face Australia again on Friday at his home ground of Emirates Old Trafford.

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Jos Buttler will return for England on Friday when the one-day series with Australia gets under way and it will be another chance for him to show why he is often described as the country’s greatest white-ball player.

The batting exploits of the wicketkeeper last weekend, when he hit 77 not out in the second Twenty20 international, saw him lavished with praise by current and former players.

Test team-mate Stuart Broad lauded him as England’s greatest ever white-ball player and 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan echoed those sentiments, while Kevin Pietersen ran out of superlatives for the 29-year-old.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Buttler’s stats and his rivals for the honour of being England’s best ever white-ball player.

Jos Buttler: 3,843 ODI runs, 40.88 ODI average; 1,455 T20I runs, 28.52 T20I average

A look at how Jos Buttler compares to some of England other greatest white-ball players (PA Graphics)
A look at how Jos Buttler compares to some of England other greatest white-ball players (PA Graphics)

Eoin Morgan: 6,766 ODI runs, 40.27 ODI average; 2,240 T20I runs, 30.27 T20I average

England captain Eoin Morgan with the World Cup after Super Over success against New Zealand in July 2019
England captain Eoin Morgan with the World Cup after Super Over success against New Zealand in July 2019 (Nick Potts/PA)

Joe Root: 5,922 ODI runs, 51.05 ODI average; 893 T20I runs, 35.72 T20I average

Root may not boast the strike rate of his rivals, but his accumulation of runs in one-dayers and T20 cricket means he is without doubt a great. He has scored a record 16 hundreds for England in ODI cricket and registered 33 fifties, plus a further five in the sprint format. At last year’s World Cup, no Englishman hit more runs than Root’s tally of 556.

Kevin Pietersen: 4,422 ODI runs, 41.32 ODI average; 1,176 T20I runs, 37.93 T20I average

Kevin Pietersen, far left, celebrates with his England team-mates after winning the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup
Kevin Pietersen, far left, celebrates with his England team-mates after winning the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Jason Roy: 3,459 ODI runs, 41.17 ODI average; 860 T20I runs, 24.57 T20I average

While the opener has not been around as long as his aforementioned rivals, his importance was highlighted in England’s World Cup win. A hamstring injury during the tournament saw him absent for a short period but he made three consecutive fifties on his return. As well as nine ODI hundreds and five T20 international half-centuries, Roy’s strike rate is more than 100 in both formats.

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