He was scooped for six by Buttler early on and later bowled him a beamer that had him ducking for cover. But Atkinson beat Buttler for pace with a 94mph, hard-length ball off the subsequent free hit, and then beat him twice more with an offcutter and an 87mph bouncer.
Atkinson finished with figures of 2 for 24 from his 19 balls, and Buttler was seen having a long conversation with Azhar Mahmood, Invincibles’ bowling coach, after the game. Mahmood has worked closely with Atkinson at Surrey over the last two years, as well as in franchise cricket at Islamabad United and Desert Vipers.
He has bowled with good pace throughout the summer, and Invincibles’ batters collectively decided to stop facing Atkinson in the nets after he struck Will Jacks on the elbow last week. Jacks was sent for a scan – which cleared him of any lasting damage – ahead of their tie against Welsh Fire on Sunday night.
Atkinson took 13 wickets at 29.15 as Surrey reached the semi-finals of the T20 Blast, conceding 8.77 runs per over, and has taken combined figures of 6 for 72 in 54 balls across his first three appearances of the Hundred season.
England are expected to be missing at least two of their high-pace options for their T20I series against New Zealand, which takes place from August 30 to September 5, with Jofra Archer (elbow) and Olly Stone (hamstring) unlikely to be fit.
They will play seven ODIs in September – four against New Zealand, three against Ireland – before flying to India for their official World Cup warm-up fixtures immediately after their final game against Ireland. With four games in seven days and a major tournament looming, they are likely to rotate their bowlers through the T20I series.
Even if Atkinson misses out on selection for the upcoming squads, he is highly likely to tour the Caribbean in December. England are due to play three ODIs and five T20Is against West Indies and will rest most of their first-choice seamers after the World Cup.