Many batsmen look the part as soon as they step into international cricket. Not many do so while barely scoring a run. The start of Jos Buttler’s ODI career was a nightmare – but only if these things are judged on paper. In his first 18 months as an England player, up to the end of the 2013 Champions Trophy, Buttler made 116 runs at an average of 11.60. He was barely more successful in IT20 matches, yet it is not an example of false memory syndrome to say that, even then, he looked a near certainty to make it at the highest level.

The main reason was that he was so different. Like Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan before him, Buttler clearly had not read the memo about how England batsmen were supposed to play in one-day cricket. The difference was that Buttler did not have the eyes of the outsider; he had drawn the same conclusions as Pietersen and Morgan despite a standard English upbringing.

To borrow a quote about the former Australian captain Kim Hughes, Buttler had the courage and ability not to become ordinary.

At the start of his career he played all kinds of unusual shots, most notably the ramp. That approach led to some ugly dismissals but there was no attempt to compromise; to be seen to do the right thing rather than what he thought was best. One innings in the Champions Trophy, a coruscating 47 not out from 16 balls against New Zealand, reinforced the perception that England might have found a genius.

For much of his career Buttler has been seen as a weapon of mass destruction, who smashes record-breaking centuries to take England to previously unimaginable totals. It has become increasingly apparent that Buttler has more than one way to skin a bowling attack. His last two centuries, against Australia in Sydney in January and Old Trafford on Sunday, were careful knocks in relatively low-scoring games. He can do subtle and sledgehammer – sometimes in the same innings.

In Sydney, with England in trouble, Buttler played within himself to make 61 from his first 65 balls. Then he slammed 39 off his last 18 to reach a brilliant unbeaten hundred in the last over. England won by 18 runs.

Even before his recall to the Test team, Buttler was starting to show he could play the long game.

On Sunday he faced 100 balls in an ODI innings for the first time. For once his strike rate was below 100 – yet that was a virtue, as it showed how precisely he managed a bespoke run-chase, breaking down a seemingly impossible task into a series of manageable steps.

England have been accused of having a batting lineup that can play only in top gear. But nobody could say that of Buttler. Just as he can bat 360 degrees, so he can adjust to any match situation. He is equally dangerous coming in at 250 for two or 40 for four; and, if one could pick one Englishman to oversee a squeaky run-chase in a World Cup semi-final, it would be Buttler.

He has the ability to maintain a resting heart rate that all great finishers require, while his intelligence and clarity make him probably England’s best reader of a game. He changes his approach depending on conditions and the match situation, while his shot selection is also generally immaculate – easier said than done, given how many he has at his disposal.

He has become the perfect all-weather batsman – and the perfect all-weather matchwinner. Apart from the statistical freaks who played a handful of games, no England player has a better average (66.83) or strike rate (130.87) than Buttler when winning an ODI.

His statistics certainly stack up now. An ODI strike rate of 117.52 is the third highest in the history of the game. The two men above him, Andre Russell and Glenn Maxwell, have nothing like Buttler’s substance. They have one ODI century between them; Buttler has six. Sunday’s innings took his career average above 40 for the first time.

Buttler’s subtlety and flexibility were not so obvious early in his career, mainly because they were hidden by his explosive talent. This year, in part because of his IPL education, he has added authority under extreme pressure to his game. He is like an album that reveals something new with each listen.

It has also become apparent over time that, though Buttler is polite and likeable, he is anything but soft. “You guys always write about what a quietly spoken and soft guy I am,” he said after an on-field row in Bangladesh in 2016, “but maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

Buttler has the quiet air of a man who knows more than me and you, without feeling the need to flaunt it. Then again, he has always been a bit different from the ordinary Joe – even down to the way he abbreviates his name. He shortened Joseph to Jos to distinguish himself from his sister Jo.

It takes a lot to stand out in England’s record-breaking batting lineup but Buttler is doing that at the moment. He is the most naturally talented and the most reliable under pressure. There is no reason to be surprised. If he caught the eye when he was failing, he was always going to do so when he succeeded.