How David Warner and Alex Carey contributed to Jos Buttler’s defensive masterclass

The story of Day 5 of the second Ashes Test was about Jos Buttler’s incredible grit and resilience against an incisive Australian attack vying for a victory whilst the England wicketkeeper-batter strives to help his team sneak through with a draw.

Buttler, till the end of the second session, has played out 196 deliveries for his defiant knock of 25* runs in extremely challenging circumstances. But to survive this long, even the determined right-hand bat needed a stroke of luck earlier into his innings.

Near the start of his innings, Jos Buttler ended up nicking pacer Mitchell Starc outside the off-stump against a ball meant to shape away from him from over-the-wicket for the left-arm pacer. But thankfully for him and England, the outside edge fell right in between wicketkeeper Alex Carey and first-slip David Warner.

The Australian duo missed the chance after a massive error in judgement from Carey, who should’ve gone for the catch but left the onus on Warner to complete the grab.

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Jos Buttler gutsed it out with the bat for England on the final day.

Error from Carey, Warner help Jos Buttler lead England’s fight in Adelaide

Jos Buttler wouldn’t have been able to lead England’s impressive fight for survival on the final day at the Adelaide Oval had Carey got across and took the catch himself. Instead, the wicketkeeper made his first genuine error in his debut Test series when he mistook it for the first-slip’s catch.

Here is the clip of the same with former England cricketers Matt Prior and Alastair Cook giving their views on Buttler’s reprieve and where Carey got it wrong, besides offering an interesting view on Warner’s role there.

Jos Buttler had an early life when neither David Warner or Alex Carey went for an edge behind

Alastair Cook and @MattPrior13 stood next to eachother for years as first slip and 'keeper.

Here's their take on Australia's missed chance…#Ashes pic.twitter.com/wxIXfhWGZT

— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) December 20, 2021

Jos Buttler’s effort in keeping the Australians at bay has been tremendous for a variety of reasons. Besides the fact that his team has its back against the walls and is striving hard for survival, the knock has been a comeback of sorts for Jos Buttler personally.

Buttler had failed in all three of his previous innings of the Ashes 2021-22 in Brisbane and Adelaide, and murmurs around his spot in the side had begun. In certain corners, even his commitment and desire to play Tests for England was questioned.

But in one gritty display, the 31-year-old silenced his critics. His innings was exemplary for the rest of England batters on how to fight it out against this Australian attack. In the end, it took a rare, unfortunate hit-wicket for Buttler to be dismissed for 26 off 207 balls.