Buttler vows to play own game after surprise Test recall

LONDON: Jos Buttler has admitted he was as surprised as anyone by his Test recall and said it feels like “another debut”.Buttler, who has not played a Test since December 2016, was hailed for his “unique gifts” by new national selector, Ed Smith. But, having not played a first-class match this year or made a first-class century since January 2014, it was a selection that took almost everyone - and certainly Buttler - by surprise.

But while he concedes a Test recall was not on his “radar” in the short term, Buttler insists he had never given up hope of a return to the format he believes is “still the ultimate” form of the game. And, whatever happens in this latest recall to the side, he has promised he will do things his own way. “It was quite a lot of a surprise,” Buttler said of his recall. “It wasn’t particularly on my radar. But, through a change of selectors, I’ve been afforded an incredible opportunity. So it’s a fantastic surprise and an incredible opportunity. It feels like another debut, really.

“I wasn’t resigned to not playing Tests again, but I was very aware that it might never happen. I knew I was going to be available for a lot of championship cricket for Lancashire at the end of the summer, so that was a real focus of mine for targeting red-ball cricket. But you always think that maybe that race is run and it will never happen again.” He comes back into the Test team in a fine vein of form.