Michael Vaughan Feels Jos Buttler Will Give England the Biggest Chance of Winning the World Cup

Former English skipper Michael Vaughan feels current wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has been a sensational performer for England and will give the Three Lions the best chance they ever had of winning the World Cup slated to be held next year in England and Wales. 

It was a sensational knock of 110 off 122 deliveries from Buttler which helped England inflict a whitewash on Australia. 

Eoin Morgan-led England won the thrilling encounter at Old Trafford by a solitary wicket in which it turned out to be a nail-biting clash. The scoreline resembles the dominant way England has played in the series.

Buttler was one of the star performers for England during the 50-over series. They are currently the top-ranked ODI side in the world. Despite being inventors of the game they have never won an ODI World Cup.

They had made the final on three occasions but has never managed to lift the title. However, Vaughan feels that 2019 is the biggest chance for England to lift the coveted title.

“I look at the England side and Buttler is the one. Teams that win trophies have X-factor cricketers. He’s right up there,” Vaughan told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.

 

“I’ve got everything crossed that he doesn’t pick up an injury. If he’s fit next year, they’ve got the best chance they have ever had,” stated Vaughan. He represented England in 82 Tests and 86 ODI’s.

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England was on the verge of losing the final encounter. They were reduced to 114 for eight while chasing a target of 206.

However, Buttler had different ideas. He ensured England recovered from the precarious situation and went on to win the match by a wicket. It was, in fact, his slowest One-day International century.

“What he provides to the team is that calmness. Whenever he is out there in the middle, he reads the game better than most. He knows and the team knows that the opposition is scared of him more than most,” said Vaughan.

England registered the highest ODI score ever when they muscled 481 runs in the third ODI. However, Vaughan feels English men will be more happier with winning a game after being done and dusted They still managed to claw their way back and register a memorable victory.

It was a real test in the final ODI:

“Forget the 481 at Trent Bridge and the other hammerings — this game is one England will take more from.  For them to get over the line today — in a real close game after Australia were favourites — this means more,”  Michael Vaughan said.

Buttler said everything is towards building a team for the World Cup.

“Everything is about building towards the World Cup but you’ve got to play cricket at the same time. We know that further down the line, with the World Cup, it’s not about winning 5-0; it’s about winning one-off games. Plucking today from nowhere shows that we’ve got that in us,” Buttler said.

England came into the series on the back of an unexpected defeat at the hands of Scotland in the One-off ODI.

However, they bounced back quite splendidly and went on to whitewash Australia.

“We’ve progressed a lot and learnt a lot. We didn’t start as well as we would have liked but to win 5-0 is pretty special,” English skipper Eoin Morgan said.

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