Manchester Super Giants 161 for 1 (Seifert 62*, Buttler 51*, Walter 37) beat Welsh Fire 155 for 4 (Short 71, Salt 48, Atkinson 2-12) by nine wickets
Buttler overtook Pollard’s aggregate of 14,803 career runs with the first of three successive sixes off Marco Jansen, and said that he was “really proud” of his achievement. Runs in the Hundred count towards players’ T20 records for statistical purposes, with the format effectively played across 20 five-ball overs.
“It’s really cool, actually, to think you’ve got the most T20 runs out of anyone,” Buttler told Sky Sports. “Someone will surpass it one day – and his name’s probably [Vaibhav] Sooryavanshi – but it’s a proud moment.
“We played against MI London last game and it would have been nice to get past Polly while he was there sat in the dugout, but there’s some great names on there, some special players, so I’m really proud of that.”
Pollard will have the chance to leapfrog Buttler again when he plays for Trinbago Knight Riders in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League – along with Alex Hales, currently fourth on the list – but is winding down his playing commitments as he moves into coaching.
Buttler struggled badly for form over the winter and managed just 87 runs in eight innings at the T20 World Cup in February-March, prompting some doubts about his future. He said that he was pleased he had shown the “energy and determination” required to rediscover his touch.
“It’s funny how quickly cricket can change: one day you’re the dog, one day you’re the lamppost,” he added. “A few months ago, I was struggling for form, and in the last few weeks especially, I probably feel like I’m batting as well as I ever have.
“You’ve only ever got two options: you either give up, or you’ve got the energy to keep going and try to rediscover your form. I’ve had enough energy and determination to try and get back there, and that’s what I’ve done.”
Buttler took over as Super Giants captain on Wednesday, after Aiden Markram returned to South Africa for personal reasons, and his explosive partnership with Tim Seifert not only helped them beat the Fire, but boosted their Net Run Rate significantly to take them third in the table.
Phil Salt won the toss and chose to bat first, but struggled to get going early on. Liam Dawson had Matt Short dropped by Paul Walter in the powerplay and Short was the more fluent opener, but neither man ever got away in an opening stand of 125 off 83 balls.
Noor Ahmad and Sonny Baker were both expensive but Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue kept things tight. Leus du Plooy gave Salt a life with a bad drop at deep midwicket but held onto a later chance off Tongue, and a flurry of late wickets – two of them to Atkinson – saw Fire scrap up to 155, a par score at best.
Joe Root, England’s newly reappointed Test captain, did not even make it to the crease, sliding down the order so that bigger hitters could come in.
The Super Giants motored to 53 without loss in the powerplay, with Seifert and Walter – filling in for Markram at the top of the order – racing out of the blocks against Sam Cook, Chris Woakes and Lockie Ferguson.
Walter went for 37 but the home side were 104 for 1 off 50, thanks in no small part to Ferguson’s extraordinary run of three no-balls in the space of six deliveries.
Buttler started sedately before switching gears, depositing Marco Jansen into the hotel at deep square leg to take him past Pollard. He celebrated by repeating the dose off the next two balls and further successive sixes from Buttler, to take him to a 20-ball half-century, saw the Super Giants home with ease.