Jos Buttler: A modern-day limited-overs genius

"England's best-ever white-ball cricketer" hailed Stuart Broad after Jos Buttler single-handedly led England to a win over Australia in the second T20I of the series in England. Those who aren't massive cricket fans, yet watch the game often enough, might question the rationale behind Broad's claim. Some of you might even throw names like Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Ben Stokes at Broad. But Buttler, despite the short time frame of his career so far, has as good a claim as any to the title. On his birthday, we look at a few incredible records held by this amazing England wicket-keeper.

Most hundreds in ODIs from No. 5 or lower

The finishing job in cricket is an art and there are few who are hailed at being as adept at it as MS Dhoni. Jos Buttler, though, has stormed on to the scene and blasted his way toward the top among wicket-keeper batsmen capable of doing the finishing job in ODIs. For batsmen at No. 5 or lower, no one has more hundreds than Jos Buttler's seven. He is level with MS Dhoni now and is only a century away from beating one of the best in the business.

Buttler's efficiency as a lower middle-order enforcer is evident from his amazing numbers at No. 5 or lower. Buttler has 3430 runs at No. 5 or lower with seven hundreds, an average of 40.35 and a stunning strike-rate of 116.46.

Best strike rate by a wicket-keeper in ODIs

The role of a wicket-keeper in cricket has changed over time, with Adam Gilchrist creating a revolution. The Aussie's exploits made several teams experiment with keepers at the top of the order and quite a few of them, even now, thrive in that role. Buttler, though, has stuck to the lower middle-order in ODIs at least and has notched up runs at a frenetic pace with his 360-degree batting.

Such is his impact that no wicket-keeper with at least 1000 runs in ODIs has a better strike-rate than Jos Buttler. Remember that he stands over names like AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock in this fancied list. A terrific keeper who can score at this pace is invaluable to the team and that's just what Buttler has been.

Most runs at No. 6 or lower for England in ODIs

Such is England's batting prowess at the top in ODI cricket now that the focus has solely been on them and Ben Stokes. Even then, Buttler has managed to make a massive impact with his shot-making around the park. It must be remembered that a large part of his career has come when England's top-order is among the best in the world, giving him limited opportunities to score many runs. Still, Buttler remains the highest run-scorer for England in ODIs from No. 6 or lower by a large distance.

Such is his excellent record that while no other England batsman has even 1500 runs from these positions, Buttler has nearly 3000 runs. A prolific batsman, Buttler has made a massive impact from the lower middle-order for England and his numbers scream out his incredible talent.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Ian Kington