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ENGLISH wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is eager to use his Big Bash League stint with Melbourne Renegades as a springboard for a second consecutive stand-out series against Australia.
The 23-year-old is on his first trip to Australia, but his acclimatisation before Friday night’s BBL season opener against Melbourne Stars has been aided by a month with England’s development squad in Brisbane and Perth.
Buttler has been England’s preferred gloveman in Twenty20 for more than a year, but his progression to the one-day team yielded little until the series against Australia after the winter Ashes series.
While the rain-plagued series was forgettable for England — the hosts lost 2-1 — the hard-hitting right-hander thrived with two half-centuries.
“I really needed those games,” Buttler said.
“I struggled a bit in the Champions Trophy but I tried to use those bad experiences positively, to work on what I did wrong back then and what I can improve on.
“I took that into the series against Australia, and luckily it came off for me.
“It’ll be really good for me to play before the ODIs.
Buttler boasts a high level of Twenty20 experience, given he only turned 23 in September.
He has already played 95 matches for Somerset and England, from which he boasts an impressive strike rate of 143.20.
That was why the Renegades signed him for their second international slot, behind Muthiah Muralidaran, for their first two matches, until the arrival of Pakistan all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez later this month.
“Strike rates are a real focus in Twenty20 cricket, especially where I bat in the middle order and at the death,” Buttler said.
In the two matches Buttler will play for the Renegades — the gap to the one-day series should allow him to watch the Tests, a format he aspires to play, in Melbourne and Sydney.
