Jos Buttler and Alex Hales guided England to a brilliant eight run win over Australia after sharing a mammoth opening partnership, with Mark Wood also starring with the ball in a tense first T20I in Perth.
After England got off to an absolute flier thanks to a statement opening partnership between Buttler and Hales worth 132 runs, Australia did well to peg them back to 208-6 in the second half of the innings with Nathan Ellis picking up excellent figures of 3-20 from his four overs.
David Warner then led the way in Australia's chase with an excellent 73 off just 44 balls, sharing crucial partnerships with Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis, before Wood's heroics at the death helped England emerge victorious.
After being put into bat, Buttler and Hales smashed England’s second-highest opening partnership in T20Is, with only Hales' unbeaten stand of 143 with Michael Lumb against New Zealand in 2013 bettering it. Buttler set the tone on his return from a calf injury, striking four boundaries off Cameron Green’s opening over.
The England skipper showcased his inventiveness with some scoop shots off Kane Richardson and targeted leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, striking some really clean sixes. Hales, meanwhile, took some time to get going before blasting 20 runs off one over from Stoinis.
Buttler reached his half-century off just 25 balls, while Hales took 29 to bring up his fifty. Buttler ultimately fell for 69 after miscuing a shot off Nathan Ellis, while Hales was dismissed by Richardson for a brutal 84. Australia closed out the innings well, with England scoring just 41 off the final five overs.
In response, Warner played a top-class innings to almost see his side home, putting on 71 runs with Marsh and a 53 with Stoinis to leave Australia in the driving seat. However, the express pace of Wood changed the game when he dismissed Stoinis, Tim David and Warner in a brilliant two over spell before Sam Curran closed out an England victory by dismissing Matthew Wade in the final over.
Here are five talking points...
Buttler's emphatic return
Having not featured at all in the seven-match series against Pakistan as a precaution, Buttler was back with a bang in his first game since picking up a calf injury in The Hundred in August. He began his innings by striking 16 off the first over from Green and did not look back.
Buttler brought up his fifty off just 25 balls with a four off Green and showed no real signs of discomfort after pushing hard while running between the wickets. He also used his bowlers to good effect, bringing back Wood at the right time to pick up crucial wickets and backing Curran to close out the innings.
"It's been clinical," Jonny Bairstow said of Buttler's batting display on BT Sport. "It's been an exhibition."
Hales vs Salt
Having been given the early nod over Phil Salt to partner Buttler at the top of the order, Hales made the most of his opportunity. The 33-year-old was widely viewed as the frontrunner to open at the World Cup given his stunning record in Australia, where he is the all-time overseas leading run scorer in the Big Bash.
After top scoring in this match with an excellent 84 off 51 balls and sharing a 132 run partnership with Buttler, he seems nailed on to open against Afghanistan in England's first World Cup game in Perth on October 17.
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England spinner Alex Hartley said: "What a brilliant knock from Alex Hales. We wondered whether it would be Hales or Phil Salt with Jos Buttler at the top of the innings.
"I think Hales has proven to Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler that this is the right decision. Alex Hales' record in Australia is fantastic. He has scored heaps and heaps of runs in the Big Bash. He's done a brilliant job for England today."
Stokes' first T20I in almost two years
England are desperate to get the best out of Stokes in this format and Buttler and Mott believe that batting him in the top four is the way to do that. Stokes has been primarily used as a finisher in T20Is by England, but got an opportunity at number three in this match.
In his first T20I since March 2021, Stokes failed to find any real fluency as he scored nine off nine and struck just one boundary. It was a frustrating innings from England's Test captain and he will need to very quickly find some form before the World Cup begins.
Despite his reputation as an explosive hitter Stokes' T20I record is rather middling, but England are confident he will star at the World Cup. "Ben is a superstar and a guy you want in the team," Buttler said before this series began. "[He] is someone we want to try to give as much opportunity to impact the game as possible."
Ellis impresses
With Australia resting Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa, several fringe bowlers were handed opportunities. And Ellis was by far their best performer as he picked up 3-20 from his four overs.
Ellis can count himself unlucky not to have been named in the World Cup squad, having enjoyed an impressive summer in England in the T20 Blast and boasting a brilliant international record of 15 wickets at just 8.53 in his five T20I appearances so far. The 28-year-old is a death specialist, can hit speeds of 90mph+ and has an effective slower ball.
"For Nathan Ellis to have bowling figures of 3-20 from four overs when the batting team have scored in excess of 200 is impressive," Hartley told BBC Test Match Special. "He mixed up his lengths, his lines and his pace of his deliveries. To bowl the 19th over and pick up two wickets is particularly good - it's the hardest over to bowl."
Wood stars
After going for 24 off his first two overs, Wood returned at the back end of Australia's innings to take three key wickets to change the game with Warner and Stoinis set. Warner had struck an excellent half-century and was in the midst of a partnership with Stoinis that was threatening to win the game for Australia.
However, Wood produced a brilliant two-over spell where he picked up 3-10, removing Stoinis and David in the 15th before dismissing Warner in the 17th. When his spell came to an end, Australia needed 36 runs to win from the final three overs and Curran and Topley saw England home.
And Warner was full of praise for Wood after the match, saying: "Credit to the way England bowled, especially Mark Wood's spell at the end, but we should have got home there. Wood is sharp and a great competitor. He brings spark and energy and is a great bowler for England."
