Buttler digs in and then hits out with match-winning century in Sydney
Sunday 21 January 2018 12:28, UK
England one-day international slip-ups are about as rare as Manchester City mishaps in the Premier League.
Eoin Morgan's men have won 18 of their last completed 20 ODIs, with Sunday's series-sealing success over Australia in Sydney suggesting they have learned from their two defeats in that period, both while batting first.
England crumbled against South Africa at Lord's last May, tumbling to 20-6 and scoring just 153, before a collapse of 8-83 saw them slump from 128-2 to 211 all out as they were knocked out by Pakistan in the Champions Trophy semi-finals in June.
Setting a score did not come as easily as chasing one down.
At the SCG, though, this was a more measured, responsible and canny England, as they racked up 302-6 having been 107-4 on a slow surface and against an Australia attack bolstered by the returns of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood as the hosts' Test pace unit was restored in full.
Last year's England may have folded once Joe Root chopped onto his stumps looking to glide Hazlewood down to third man, but the 2018 version didn't - patient in the middle overs and pulsating in the last 10, with Jos Buttler (100no off 83 balls) shifting through the gears beautifully.
Buttler's first task was to rebuild alongside Morgan (41 off 50), the duo combining for a steady 65 runs in a little over 12 overs to hand England a base from which to tee off at the backend.
Buttler reached his fifty from a sedate 52 deliveries from the first ball of the 41st over - he had struck just two fours and a six at that point - but it wasn't long before his invention was on display, starting with his scoop over wicketkeeper Tim Paine for four.
That stroke at the start of the 45th set England on their way to a total of 76 runs from the last six - Buttler cracking 28 runs from his final 11 balls.
No member of Australia's much-vaunted pace cabal escaped Buttler's onslaught - Hazlewood thrashed over long-off for six, Mitchell Starc nailed for back-to-back boundaries, and Cummins going six-six-four in the penultimate over.
It was far from a one-man show for England late on, though - such was the clean hitting of Chris Woakes (53no off 36) that it appeared Buttler may miss out on a fifth ODI century, Woakes slamming five fours and two sixes in an unbroken partnership of 113.
A well-scampered two from the final delivery of the innings, however, saw Buttler reach three figures - after he successfully overturned an lbw dismissal on 97 with replays showing he had got some bat on Starc's delivery.
Buttler subsequently became only the second man, after MS Dhoni, to score three ODI tons from the No 6 spot or lower.
That's where England's batting line-up resemble Manchester City - they can hit you from all angles.
It was Jason Roy's England record 180 from 151 balls in Melbourne; the rapid-fire 117-run stand between Jonny Bairstow (60) and Alex Hales (57) in Brisbane, and unbeaten knocks from Joe Root in both games and now Buttler in Sydney.
Even the three guys who were not called upon to bat at the SCG - Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood - have 13 first-class centuries and 62 fifties between them.
England possess ample options with the ball, too - the tourists successfully defending their total of 302-6 despite Plunkett bowling just 1.2 overs due to a hamstring injury, which be assessed on Monday.
Rashid accounted for Aaron Finch (62) and Mitchell Marsh (55) as the pair looked to push on after passing fifty, while Wood picked up the big wicket of Steve Smith, albeit that debate raged over whether the catch to dismiss him had carried to Buttler behind the stumps.
The big difference between the sides, though, was that Buttler and Woakes stand.
They whacked 48 runs from the final three overs, while Australia, needing 43 in the same time-frame, could manage only 26, despite the best efforts of Marcus Stoinis (56 off 43), as Wood and Woakes kept composed.
There is, of course, another big hitter to slot back into England's white-ball side, with Ben Stokes poised to make his return during the T20 series in New Zealand - though exactly where he fits in and who makes way for him is hard to fathom.
“It is probably our best win as a group to date. The amount of character we showed until the end was awesome."
What's clear is that he will come into a side learning how to win games in different ways - and, at this point, one looking like clear favourites for the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
That's for later, though - the next target is to beat Australia 5-0 in this series and, as the Barmy Army found such enjoyment in singing at the SCG, win the winter 5-4.
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