Jos Buttler has a taste for leading his country after winning his first match as captain.
Buttler had precious little relevant experience when he took over from regular skipper Eoin Morgan for the second Twenty20 international in front of a 20,000-plus crowd full of partisan Pakistani ex-pats in Dubai on Friday night.
But he kept wicket, helped eke out a defendable total and then held his nerve in the field in a thrilling three-run win for a series-clinching 2-0 lead.
Buttler, as softly-spoken in front of a microphone as he is brilliantly hard-hitting with the bat, may not scream obvious captaincy material to some, but England have seen enough from the 25-year-old to have no hesitation in putting him in charge in Morgan's absence.
One match as captain of England Under-18s against Scotland A, and another for Somerset seconds, is not perhaps the most compelling of CVs.
Yet Buttler barely put a foot wrong and afterwards, he confirmed he will be very happy to captain England again.
"Whether you've done it loads or not, if you feel like you can do it and people show the faith in you then the experience is not necessarily needed," he said.
"It's more about the belief that management, and Eoin, show in me to go and do it.
"It was a great experience, (and) I'd love to do more of it."
He believes his crucial role as wicketkeeper is a help, not a hindrance, to leading the team too - as others have famously demonstrated in international cricket.
"Obviously, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni's done it a lot - and (Kumar) Sangakkara as well," he added.
"As a wicketkeeper, you have to show leadership qualities.
"It's always something I've been interested in, and I'm someone who - if I've got an opinion - I'm going to say it.
"I think that's a good start for a captain."
If the opportunity arises again Buttler will stay true to the white-ball adventure patented since last winter's hapless World Cup campaign.
"We want to promote that aggressive style of cricket we've had for the last six months," he said.
"(Eoin and I) are pretty similar in the way we think about it, and our demeanour."
It was Buttler who first had to sit out an instalment of this Twenty20 series, given an unexpected break in Thursday's opening match despite his brilliant return to form with the bat after a fallow period for much of the year.
He had mixed feelings about that, but accepts the wisdom of policy under coach Trevor Bayliss and Morgan as they try to cover all bases in time for the ICC World Twenty20 in India in March.
"I've been batting badly enough for long enough to know that actually when you come into some form you want to play," said Buttler.
"But you see the bigger picture, and (it's) something you just accept . you understand the decisions that are being taken.
"For people to question them, and us still be winning 2-0, just shows we're doing the right things."
Source: PA
