India vs England 2016: Jos Buttler confirmed to play the third Test in Mohali
England batsman Jos Buttler has been confirmed to play in the third India-England Test, starting in Mohali on Saturday, skipper Alastair Cook said during the pre-match press conference on Friday. Buttler will bat at Number 7.
The wicket-keeper will return to the team this time round as a specialist batsman as Johnny Bairstow is already employed behind the sticks. He also added that Chris Woakes will take the place of Stuart Broad for the game.
Coach Trevor Bayliss has still faith in Ben Duckett’s batting but feels that he is not built for the kill in these turning tracks. He scored only 18 runs in the three innings he batted and was particularly struggling against off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
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It is not that Buttler has a very impressive record in recent past, having scored only one 30-plus score in the last 12 innings, and has a first class average of 32.07, which is quite moderate. Bayliss feels that if he plays the game he does in 50-over format, it will help him a lot while playing the red ball.
As per the reports in ESPN Cricinfo, the Australian said, "The one thing with Jos is that if he plays the same way as he does in one-day cricket, I think that's the way ahead for him; red ball or white ball. I think he's starting to get his head around that fact.”
Buttler does not have a lot of match practice behind him having played just one warm-up match in Bangladesh where he scored only 4 runs and was subsequently dropped. But as per the head coach’s words, he is pleased about how the batsman is playing in the nets and feels the right-hander will give his best.
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"He's certainly hitting the ball very well in the nets. Yes, we would have liked him to have a hit-out at some stage, but it is what it is these days. We've no time to fit one in. If he does come in I think he'll give it his best shot,” said Bayliss.
With 0-1 down in the series, England would be eager to bounce back in the third test in Mohali beginning on November 26. During their last tour to India, they were in a similar situation, down by 0-1, and then they played some extraordinary cricket to win the series 2-1.