Jos Buttler as opener? It could ignite England’s World Cup campaign

Jos Buttler wanted to “let it hurt” after England’s defeat to Afghanistan, but now the pain is subsiding, and only the questions remain. There are crumbs of good news. Ben Stokes is fit again, and other semi-final contenders have stumbled. But it’s become accepted that England need changes, and at least here, there is history on their side.

Each of the last three men’s World Cup-winning sides has made a change partway through the tournament that proved pivotal at the back end. In 2019, England brought in Liam Plunkett for Moeen Ali, the heavy ball specialist bookending his team’s quartet of must-wins with match-turning three-fors. In 2015, Australia responded to their sole defeat in a frantic low-scorer by bringing in James Faulkner, who was named Player of the Match in the final. In 2011, once India realised Yuvraj Singh could be relied upon with the ball, Suresh Raina lengthened the batting order, and contributed a pair of crucial thirties in the quarters and the semis.

It’s this kind of fix which Matthew Mott is hoping will work for England. “We’ll always make to look subtle changes, but I can guarantee you now there won’t be any wholesale changes with the team,” he said. “I’m not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater after a couple of bad performances.”

But those examples are of sides on the cusp of cracking it tinkering around the edges, and it’s hard not to wonder if England need something more radical. They don’t feel like World Cup winners in the making right now.

Maybe bringing Stokes back in, along with a few “We shall fight them on the beach-like outfields”, is enough to change that, but even here there are challenges. It feels as if a bowler, likely Sam Curran, with Chris Woakes lent on Jos Buttler’s backing, has to miss out. This would be a departure from England’s favoured balance, but while the batting line-up isn’t fully firing, all except the captain has at least one score above 50.

If England are to turn their fortunes around, Buttler will need to come good and there’s no doubt he will. But perhaps he could do with a change of position, as well as a change of form. When England have a firing top five, he makes sense at No.6, either applying the dazzling final strokes, or summoning his savviness when the odd collapse does come. The easiest reshuffling would see Stokes slot in at four, with Brook and Buttler each shifting down, the latter back in his former home. However, now that England are struggling, can they afford to have their most important player in a luxury role?

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Buttler has never batted above No.4 in ODIs, but he is established as one of the best T20I openers in the world, where his consistency allows him to be a powerplay biffer and a finisher all in one. The jobs are vastly different between the two formats, but the debates feel similar. Batting in the middle order is a more specialised role in each format, but the impact you can have is lessened. His own excellence answered the debate in the build-up to the 2021 T20 World Cup, when England were able to experiment. This would be a punt, but it might also benefit the rest of the order. Jonny Bairstow, who is yet to rediscover his best ODI touch, would have the burden of a tone-setting start lessened, and could unveil his spin specialism in the middle order. Or else England could have two players with full licence at the top, safe in the knowledge that their most consistent players, Malan and Joe Root, are in next.

Just imagine it: Buttler striding out of that dressing room alongside either of Malan or Jonny Bairstow, facing up to Lungi Ngidi, and pumping him through the covers in the first over. England’s campaign would feel different, fun, new. This might be the decisive factor. Right now, there is the sense of a team leaning on past glories, muscle memory, hoping that, out of practice and aging as they are, simply being world champions before will allow them to be so again. There isn’t a sense of panic, but maybe there should be, because the rest of the world has caught up. England need to push the envelope again.

Bravery comes in many forms, and it takes more than asking for it to summon it. It requires deeds as well as words. There is bravery in the gameplan too, backing your players to fire in their primary discipline, lessening the need for cover elsewhere. Buttler wants England to be decisive and aggressive. Him opening the batting might not work, but it would certainly be both of those things.