Roy praises Buttler’s explosive form

LONDON: Jason Roy, the England opener, joked that Jos Buttler’s explosive form is ‘demoralising’ to the top-order batsmen as he makes them look slow.

Buttler, who hit a blistering century against Pakistan in the second One-Day International, has been terrific of late and performing consistently for the past couple of years.

In 2019, he has already accumulated 321 runs in seven matches at a whopping average of 107. He also scored over 300 runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League and was one of Rajasthan Royals’ key batsmen.

Roy thinks Buttler is “as good as it gets” and his talent cannot be denied. The 28-year-old himself scored a solid 98-ball 87 in that match against Pakistan but his patient effort was overshadowed by Buttler’s 55-ball 110 not out blitz.

“He’s as good as it gets to be honest,” Roy told Sky Sports. “It’s not a shock, in fact it’s getting a bit kind of routine for him to come out and play those sort of innings. He’s almost demoralising the guys at the top of the order that are going at a run a ball and he comes in and just blitzes it.

“He’s an extreme talent and works hard for it and deserves everything he gets,” he added.

Buttler’s innings had also prompted former England captain Nasser Hussain to shower high praise on him. Speaking to Sky Sports, the veteran had said, “I don’t like massive comments, but he’d have to be up there with the three or four greatest white-ball players of all time. You’re talking Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Viv Richards. I have to put Buttler in that category.”

Roy, who came back from an injury, is feeling confident about his game as well. His knock in the second ODI helped England get off to a brilliant start and laid the foundation for Buttler to come and play his shots. Roy had suffered a back spasm while playing for Surrey in the One-Day Cup last month but is fully fit now.

“I’m 100 per cent fit. I spent six or seven weeks with my hamstring injury, fixing my torn hamstring. Then my back was quite a big issue but it was resolved by the great medical staff we have here. So I’m back fully, fully fit. I actually feel better than I did before,” he concluded.