Ben Gardner ranks Jos Buttler’s nine ODI centuries from ‘worst’ to best.

No.9) 105 v South Africa

76 balls, 11 fours, 5 sixes, February 3, 2016, 1st ODI, Bloemfontein

Really, nothing demonstrates just how ridiculous a cricketer Jos Buttler than that a knock as good as this could still rank as his worst. England were playing the first ODI of a series away from home against a side who had come heartbreakingly close to a World Cup final berth less than a year previously. But if we are picking holes, he had a decent platform, his eventual strike-rate was ‘only’ 138, and, with Quinton de Kock in full flow in the chase., England might just have lost the game had rain not intervened.

No.8) 110 v Pakistan

55 balls, 6 fours, 9 sixes, May 11, 2019, 2nd ODI, Ageas Bowl

A hurricane forgotten in the pre-World Cup whirlwind, which saw England play 11 ODIs in the year even before the big show got underway. This was a proper show of strength; Joe Root’s 40 was the lowest score by an England batsman that day. And Jos Buttler’s 110 was the prize knock, laden with nine sixes. Pakistan got close in the chase too, so England needed the runs.

No.7) 100* v Australia

83 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes, January 21, 2018, 3rd ODI, Sydney Cricket Ground

This was a series which put into stark contrast the fortunes of England’s Test and ODI teams. Fresh of a 4-0 shellacking in whites, a change of personnel saw the tourists to a 4-1 victory over the old enemy. They didn’t have things all their own way though, with the 107-4 Eoin Morgan’s team found themselves at Sydney one of the shakier platforms from which Buttler has been asked to launch himself.

Launch he did nonetheless, pushing England just past 300 and out of reach of Australia. But what puts this above the two below it are that he also built some of the foundations too, with his first 50 coming off a snail-like (for him) 52 balls.

No.6) 103 v Pakistan

76 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes, June 3, 2019, World Cup, Trent Bridge

Even when Pakistan racked up 348-8 in England’s second World Cup game, there were few notes of real concern; the hosts had scored at seven an over for fun in the pre-tournament shindig between the sides. Then England slid to 118-4 and Buttler, not for the last time that competition, was asked to repair the damage. That England eventually fell 15 runs short shouldn’t overly detract from the quality of Buttler’s ton, which, had it come in victory, would have been one of the great World Cup knocks.

No.5) 150 v West Indies

77 balls, 13 fours, 12 sixes, February 27, 2019, 4th ODI, Grenada

Only halfway up the list of Buttler’s best hundreds is this incredible blitz, a knock which only made the question, ‘What if Buttler batted through an ODI innings?’ all the more tantalising. He came in just after the halfway stage and still ended up with 150 to his name. As it happened, it might not even have been the best knock in the game, with the Universe Boss’ 162 trumping Universe Jos, even if England won the day. The salute to Sheldon Cottrell was a lovely touch too.

No.4) 116* v Pakistan

52 balls, 10 fours, 8 sixes, November 20, 2015, 4th ODI, Dubai

This might well by Jos Buttler’s most important hundred, from a personal perspective. His first stint in the Test side had just ended meekly against Pakistan in the UAE, and the worry was that indifferent red-ball form would inhibit his freewheeling white-ball antics. Instead, even on a pitch on which free scoring wasn’t easy, Buttler smashed what is still his fastest ODI hundred, racing from 50 to 100 in the small matter of 16 balls. He was still as good as ever.

No.3) 129 v New Zealand

77 balls, 13 fours, 5 sixes, June 9, 2015, 1st ODI, Edgbaston

After the World Cup humiliation, of which Jos Buttler did as much as anyone to try and avert, this was the tone-setter for the glory to come. In England’s first completed ODI after that tournament, they racked up their highest ever total against the beaten finalists, a New Zealand team who had themselves shown England the way in that Wellington walloping.

Still, in the glow of everything that has happened since, it’s easy to convince yourself that England’s resurrection was inevitable, destined almost. In reality, Buttler’s innings here, which lifted England from 202-6 past 400, was hugely important. A few early wobbles and shambolic collapses and who knows, they might have called off the whole experiment. Instead, Buttler gave them a taste of the Kool-Aid, and the game was never quite the same.

No.2) 121 v Sri Lanka

74 balls, 11 fours, 4 sixes, May 31, 2014, 4th ODI, Lord’s

We knew Buttler was good. This was the first sign that he might already be great. Coming in all the way down at No.7, as was, maddeningly, the way back then, England were 111-5, chasing 301, and out of it. Then, Jos Buttler happened. He couldn’t quite get his side over the line, with a final-over masterclass from Lasith Malinga just too good, but this was the ultimate confirmation that England had a truly special talent on their hands. It still took them a year to realise it, mind.

No.1) 110* v Australia

122 balls, 12 fours, 1 six, June 24, 2018, 1st ODI, Old Trafford

Jos Buttler’s slowest hundred, by a distance, and arguably his least typical, but also, without question, his best. England had trampled all over Australia in a standalone bilateral ODI series between the sides in 2018, and when a Moeen Ali four-for kept the Aussies to 205, a well-lubricated Manchester crowd fully expected a romp to a 5-0 whitewash.

Instead, they were treated to a classic, with Billy Stanlake and Kane Richardson plunging England to 27-4 and then 114-8. Buttler played the situation to perfection. His first 50 took all of 74 balls, before he slowly started to open up. As he did at Edgbaston in that palate-cleansing record-breaker, Adil Rashid played the foil, with a stolid 20 helping England up near 200. Then he holed out to fine leg, and Buttler had just Jake Ball (ODI average: 9.50) for company.

The ball after Rashid’s aberration, Buttler brought up his hundred, smashing Stoinis straight back down the ground for six. But that left Ball on strike, and the crowd held its breath as one. A maiden was played out, before Buttler’s only mistake of the day. He drove Richardson wide of long-off but timed it too well, and couldn’t get back for the second. Over to Ball again, and after three nerveless blocks, two singles left England needing two to win, and Buttler on strike. Three balls later, Buttler pierced the in-field and punched the air. The innings was rated Wisden’s best in ODIs for that year.