Buttler ton guides England to 5-0 sweep of Australia

MANCHESTER: Buttler’s unbeaten century on his Lancashire home ground saw England to a thrilling one-wicket win over Australia in the fifth one-day international at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Victory gave England their first 5-0 series sweep of Australia, in more than 140 years of men’s international cricket between the arch-rivals. England, set a mere 206 to win, slumped to 50 for five and then 114 for eight. They were still 11 runs shy of victory at 195 for nine when Adil Rashid (20) was out after sharing a stand of 81 with Buttler. But Buttler’s 110 not out saw them win with nine balls to spare while last man Jake Ball held firm at the other end.

Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss only to see his side dismissed for 205 in 34.4 overs. Off-spinner Moeen Ali took an ODI best four for 46 — including two for none in three ballsTravis Head (56) was the only batsman in the innings to pass fifty, with D’Arcy Short left stranded on 47 not out.

Earlier report said: England made three changes - resting the pace trio of Mark Wood, David Willey and Craig Overton. 20-year old Sam Curran was handed his maiden ODI cap by James Anderson, becoming the second youngest English player to represent the country in the 50-over format. It was quite a dramatic debut.

Finch, after playing out five dot deliveries, got off the mark with the most commanding of flicks through mid wicket for a boundary. That was just the early show of intent and form. He hammered another boundary and then played an authoritative pick up shot for a six. Within the first six overs, along with Head, he hammered 58. The Australian side of the story, till then, had a merry narrative - something that they had been yearning for long on this England tour.

And then came Moeen Ali, and then struck disaster. Finch inside edged a heave on to his stumps. Two balls later, Marcus Stoinis swept straight to the fielder at deep fine leg. A couple of overs later, Shaun Marsh was tricked and stumped. Amidst all this, Head seemed stable as he stroked his way to a breezy half-century - 10th of his ODI career. Brief scores: Australia 205, 34.4 overs (T Head 56 M Ali 4-46)

England 208-9, 48.3 overs (J Buttler 110 no; B Stanlake 3-35, K Richardson 3-51)

Result: England won by one wicket

Series: England win five-match series 5-0

Man-of-the-match: Jos Buttler (ENG) Man-of-the-series: Jos Buttler (ENG).