‘Everyone is trying to emulate him’ England batsman Jos Buttler says about AB de Villiers of South Africa

Birmingham, England // Jos Buttler said AB de Villiers was his “role model” but added he had a long way to go to match the standards of the South African star despite a dazzling hundred against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

Buttler’s thrilling century off just 66 balls, which followed an almost-as-quick-71-ball ton from Joe Root, allowed England to post a mammoth score of 408 for nine in the first of a five-match one-day series with New Zealand.

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It was the first time England had passed 400 in ODI cricket, while their eventual 210-run winning margin was another national record.

Buttler’s “360 degree” approach to batting has invited comparisons with Proteas batsman De Villiers, but the 24-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman said: “I’m not sure I’m quite at those guys’ level yet.

“AB de Villiers is someone who has been a role model for me for a long period of time; someone who has changed batting, I think, over the past few years, and everyone is trying to emulate him.

“That’s the role I want to play in English cricket. I want to be that guy who can go out like I did and play those kind of innings and try to do that consistently,” added Buttler, now the vice-captain of England’s one-day side.

What made England’s display at Edgbaston all the more extraordinary was that it was in complete contrast to their eight-wicket defeat by the eventual World Cup finalists when they last played New Zealand in white-ball cricket at Wellington in February.

England suffered a humiliating first-round exit at the global showpiece tournament and one-day captain Eoin Morgan vowed afterwards they would opt for a more dynamic approach to the 50-over game.

“It wasn’t through lack of trying before, it’s not as if we wanted to play like that,” said Buttler of the World Cup. “We weren’t playing well enough.”

The England-New Zealand series continues at The Oval tomorrow.

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‘Everyone is trying to emulate him’ England batsman Jos Buttler says about AB de Villiers of South Africa

Buttler said De Villiers was his “role model” but added he had a long way to go to match the standards of the South African star despite a dazzling hundred against New Zealand at Edgbaston.