“The dangerman for England is gonna be Jos Buttler. I just watched him develop over the last 2 or 3 years. I had a chance to coach him at Mumbai Indians 3 or 4 seasons ago when he was really sort of starting to make his mark in international cricket,” Ponting was quoted as saying in a video posted at Cricket Australia website.
“What he has done in the last 12 to 18 months whether, in a T20, One-Day game or a Test match for England, it's really outstanding. So, Jos Buttler is England's dangerman for me.”
“He (Buttler) might not take the gloves but his middle-order batting is out of this world. He scores 360 degrees around the ground, hits the ball incredibly hard, hits the ball a long way as well,” he added.
Besides Buttler, England's team comprises of match-winners like skipper Eoin Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer to name a few.
The two-time World Cup winning skipper said England's depth in the batting department makes the hosts a force to reckon with in the upcoming World Cup.
“I think England's great strength right now in their One-Day team is how deep they bat. That allows all their top-order to play probably with more freedom than most other teams,” Ponting said.
“Someone like a Buttler or (Ben) Stokes or Moeen Ali coming in at 7, 8, 9, allows their top-order to go hard. They are a really confident outfit. They have got great depth in their squad and obviously would be playing in conditions they are very much used to.”