ENG vs NZ: Jos Buttler smashes his 25th ODI fifty
England captain Jos Buttler slammed a fine fifty against New Zealand in the first ODI at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Buttler registered his 25th fifty in ODI cricket and his fourth against the Kiwis. His 68-ball 72 was extremely crucial as the hosts posted a challenging total of 291/6 in their 50 overs. Buttler's knock was laced with five fours and two sixes.
Captain's knock from Buttler
Buttler was in the middle when England were 101/3 and they had just lost Joe Root. However, the experienced batter applied himself along with Ben Stokes and added 88 runs. Later on after Stokes's departure, he stitched a 77-run stand with Liam Livingstone, taking England's total beyond the 250-run mark. He accelerated in the slog overs with Livingstone and was dismissed by Tim Southee.
A look at his ODI numbers
Playing his 166th ODI encounter, Buttler has amassed 4,719 at an average of 41.76. Apart from hammering 25 fifties, he has slammed 11 hundreds in this format. Buttler surpassed 600 runs against NZ in ODIs as he raced to 634 runs in 21 ODIs at 42.26. He has slammed four fifties and a solitary ton against the Kiwis in this format (SR: 126.80).
Buttler is closing in on 1,000 ODI runs as captain
Buttler has amassed 934 runs in 24 ODI matches as England's designated captain. He has maintained an impressive average of 46.80 and has hammered eight fifties and a solitary hundred as skipper. Overall, Buttler is England's fifth-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket. He is behind the likes of Eoin Morgan (6,957), Root (6,213), Ian Bell (5,416) and Paul Collingwood (5,092).
How did the England innings pan out?
After they were invited to bat, England had a steady start as Dawid Malan and Harry Brook added 80 runs in 15 overs. However, both the openers were dismissed in quick succession and even Root was sent back early. Stokes and Buttler stitched an 88-run partnership before Buttler added 77 more runs with Livingstone. David Willey added finishing touches to the innings (291/6).
