England not demoting Jos Buttler in third T20I against South Africa, reveals skipper Eoin Morgan

The T20I series between South Africa and England is interestingly tied at 1-1 at the moment with the final game set to be played in Centurion on Sunday. Both the two games played so far were decided by a whisker’s difference and now, all eyes will be glued to the deciding match. The Proteas won the first match in East London by a solitary run while the Three Lions levelled it in Durban by winning the match by two runs.

A special eye will be on England’s dashing wicket-keeper-batsman Jos Buttler in Centurion. Buttler had a comparatively quiet tour of South Africa with not a single fifty in any form. He did not play in the three-match ODI series that ended in 1-1 tie as he was rested.

In the T20Is that followed, the 29-year-old managed just 15 and 2 while opening the innings. England skipper Eoin Morgan was asked whether Buttler was set for a demotion in the final T20I because of his poor touch with the bat and the former said he would not.

“Not for Sunday, definitely not. Jos is one of our greatest white-ball cricketers, as a batsman, never mind with the gloves. We believe him, Jason (Roy) and Jonny (Bairstow) are our top three at the moment, moving forward,” Hindustan Times quoted Jos Buttler as saying.

Moeen Ali says Jos Buttler is as good in all positions

All-rounder Moeen Ali, who hit 39 off 11 balls in the second T20I and won the man-of-the-match award, however, indicated at a change in the batting order as the team prepares for the World T20 scheduled in Australia later this year. According to him, Buttler is as good in any position he goes out to bat and called him one of England’s “best finishers”. He, however, added that England could not afford to only rely on him.

“The lucky thing is that we can change it and we’d be just as strong or even stronger. Jos is brilliant at No. 5 but he’s also brilliant when he opens. So sometimes when he bats at five and plays the way he does, people say he could open and bat like that and bat for longer. Jos is one of our best finishers, but as a 5, 6, 7, 8 we have to get better as well. We can’t just rely on him. If he comes off at the top, we win the game in 10 overs,” he said.

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