Jos Buttler put confusing thoughts of fatigue to one side and decided to have some fun before the counterattacking half-century that has kept England’s heads above water in this final Ashes Test.
Four wickets for Australia’s freshly recalled Mitch Marsh had threatened to ruin the opening day for Joe Root’s side, who after being asked to bat first had seen a promising score of 170 for three after tea turn into 226 for eight in the 71st over.
However, Buttler’s unbeaten 64 from 84 balls – displaying his one-day international skills to strike three sixes off Josh Hazlewood – helped England to reach 271 for no further loss by the close. His old Somerset friend Jack Leach held firm once more from No 10 and is set to resume alongside him on 10 on Friday morning.
Buttler, speaking after his first Ashes half-century in 17 innings and at the end of a personally low-key series, said: “I’ve found batting hard this summer and it was nice to relax and try to have some fun. That style of batting comes naturally. I enjoyed it, especially with Jack at the other end.”
The 29-year-old is among a number of World Cup winners deemed to have been tired during the second half of this epic English summer but, despite averaging 16 in the series before this finale, the man himself was less certain.
“You might not feel that tired or that jaded but you hear it bandied around as a reason why you might not be playing that well and you start to believe it,” Buttler said. “I’ve gone around the question of fatigue quite a lot. At times I feel I am but at other times it gets put in your brain that you should be.”
England remain in the contest despite failing to capitalise on a lacklustre start by Australia. Root was dropped three times between 24 and 30 en route to an unconverted a score of 57, while the recalled Sam Curran, who made 15, had a life on seven when Pat Cummins trapped him lbw off what proved to be a front‑foot no-ball.
Despite a seemingly underwhelming day with the bat, Root’s bowlers will at least be encouraged by the swing Marsh managed to extract when he pounced after tea. It is something which has been fleeting for much of the series.
The likeable all-rounder, who battled cramp on his return to the side, was dropped by Australia in January amid a poor home summer and with questions being asked about his weight. Speaking after the close, Marsh also divulged that a close friend killing themselves had contributed to his dip in form.
Marsh said: “Last year was a range of stuff – a few things in my personal life. I lost a close friend to suicide at the start of the Australia summer. I didn’t handle it as well as I could have. It transitioned into my cricket. To have gone through that and got through the summer, I knew I still had love for the game.”
On the battle to stay trim, the 27-year-old said: “It wasn’t terrible, my body just seems to put on weight easily and my mum likes to feed me. I haven’t had as many roasts at home in the last six months.
“But it hasn’t been that hard, I love playing for Australia I want to keep doing it, so I’ll keep working. I’m waking up every day wanting to be the best cricketer I can. Today was a good reward for that. But it’s one day of the Test match and we have a long way to go in this game.”