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England keeper’s lack of trust in and understanding of first-class cricket means he struggles to play each ball on its meritsThis Ashes series was always going to end with some England players facing questions about their international futures, and for one of them the end and the questions have come a little early. Jos Buttler’s injury has spared the selectors a decision about whether to retain him in the team for the final Test in Hobart, but it has forced England to think about who will keep wicket this week and also in the future.There have always been huge expectations on Buttler because of his superb form in white-ball cricket, but precisely 100 innings into his Test career we’ve seen little sign of that form transferring. I remember working with him in Abu Dhabi when England played Pakistan there in 2015. He was struggling a little bit and after he got left out of the third Test we went to the nets, and he unloaded quite a lot of things that were on his mind. What it came down to was a lack of trust in and understanding of first-class cricket, and an uncertainty about how to play at No 6 or No 7 when perhaps the scoreboard is not dictating your approach. In one-day cricket he might be leading a run chase and knowing he needs six an over, or when batting first he might need to take advantage of a powerplay, but Test cricket is not formulaic in the same way. Continue reading...