Jos Buttler joins elite club with 200th ODI appearance for England
Birmingham, July 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Jos Buttler added another landmark to his illustrious international career on Tuesday, becoming only the second England cricketer to feature in 200 One-Day Internationals when he took the field against India in the opening match of the three-game series at Edgbaston.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter joined former England captain Eoin Morgan (225 ODIs) in an exclusive club, reaching the milestone 14 years after making his ODI debut against Pakistan in Dubai in February 2012.
From an exciting young finisher to one of the architects of England’s white-ball transformation, Buttler has been at the heart of the team’s rise as a global force in limited-overs cricket. Across 171 innings, the 34-year-old has amassed 5,515 runs at an average of 39.11 and an exceptional strike rate of 115.20, registering 11 centuries and 29 half-centuries, with an unbeaten 162 as his highest score.
Buttler’s impact on England’s ODI setup extends well beyond numbers. His fearless strokeplay helped redefine the team’s batting philosophy, while his 46-ball hundred against Pakistan in 2015 remains England’s fastest century in the format. He is also the only English batter to have scored three ODI centuries in 50 balls or fewer and owns the record for the most ODI hundreds by a player batting at No. 5 or lower, with eight.
One of the defining moments of Buttler’s career came in the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s. His run-out of Martin Guptill sealed England’s maiden 50-over World Cup title after an unforgettable Super Over, while his composed half-century earlier in the match proved equally crucial.
Following Morgan’s retirement, Buttler succeeded him as England’s white-ball captain and led the side to the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in Australia before stepping down after the team’s disappointing Champions Trophy campaign in 2025.
His consistency and attacking approach have also placed him among the format’s all-time greats. Among batters with at least 5,000 ODI runs, only Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi has a higher strike rate than Buttler’s 115.20. He is also the only player with more than 2,500 ODI runs to combine an average above 36 with a strike rate exceeding 110. Additionally, his 184 ODI sixes rank second among active players, behind only India’s Rohit Sharma.
Reflecting on the milestone, Buttler said it had prompted him to look back on the excitement he felt when he first represented England.
“Yeah, immensely proud. I think it’s really good to be in this position now and from your question actually think back to that Jos Buttler all those years ago to have played this many games and have enjoyed the ups and downs of international cricket and still try and touch base with the enthusiasm and the excitement of pulling on the jersey whether it was like that for the first time or now going to be for the 200th time. It’s really important to touch base with that and lean into that, especially at this stage of your career, and it’s a time to really enjoy and make the most of it. So even your question there is a nice reminder, really, of the way I should be thinking,” Buttler said in a video shared by England Cricket on Instagram.
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