Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes fire for England before third T20 vs Australia washed out

 

England win T20I series against Australia 2-0 as third game abandoned due to bad weather; Jos Buttler hammers 65 in rain-reduced match before Chris Woakes takes two wickets in first over of chase; England play Pakistan on Monday and then World Cup opener against Afghanistan on October 22

Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes fired for England before the third T20 against Australia in Canberra was washed out as the tourists were denied the chance to clinch a 3-0 sweep ahead of the World Cup.

In a game reduced to 12 overs a side after two lengthy weather interruptions, England posted 112-2 with Buttler (65no off 41) and Ben Stokes (17no off 10) plundering 39 runs from the final 14 balls after the second rain break had come with the tourists 73-2 after 9.4 overs.

Buttler smashed Josh Hazlewood for three fours and six in a 22-run 11th over, bringing up a 17th T20 international half-century, and second of the series, from 35 balls in the process.

Set a revised 130, Australia slumped to 17-3 as Woakes (3-4 from two overs) removed skipper Aaron Finch (0) and Mitchell Marsh (0) for golden ducks from the first two balls of the chase and then Glenn Maxwell - opening in the absence of David Warner (neck) - towards the end of the third over.

A third, match-ending downpour arrived with Australia 30-3 after 3.5 overs, just seven balls before the five overs that would have constituted a game.

"We've really enjoyed it. We made some good strides in Pakistan and came here and continued that form," said Buttler after being named Player of the Series.

"For everyone, the carrot of the World Cup is close. Got to be careful with conditions."

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England had recorded successive eight-run wins in the opening two matches, firstly in Perth and then in Canberra, and now have one more warm-up, against Pakistan in Brisbane on Monday, ahead of their T20 World Cup opener against Afghanistan in Perth on October 22.

Real plusses from the Australia series for England include Buttler's two fifties after returning from a calf injury; Dawid Malan's 82 in game two; Sam Curran, who picked up five wickets combined and starred at the death during the first two games before being rested for the third; and Woakes' new-ball burst on Friday.

Possible concerns are the batting form of Stokes - the left-hander making nine and seven in the first two matches before rain denied him a really lengthy hit in the third - and leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who suffered some expensive outings against Australia and also in Pakistan last month.

However, a series win over the reigning World Cup champions suggests England could be a huge threat in this year's event and they still have the hard-hitting, spin-bowling Liam Livingstone to come back - Livingstone targeting Monday's warm-up as his return from an ankle injury.

Rain denies England shot at clean sweep

There seems little chance Alex Hales will be out of the XI come the Afghanistan match, with the opener possessing a fine Big Bash League record and hitting 84 from 51 balls in the series opener against Australia.

But he suffered a second successive single-figure exit in Canberra, following his four on Wednesday with a second-ball duck on Friday after snicking Hazlewood to slip in the second over as he pushed away from his body.

That brought Malan (23 off 19) to the middle after just eight balls and he showcased some of the timing he had displayed on the same ground two days earlier during his half-century, striking four fours in a second-wicket stand of 56 from 39 deliveries with captain Buttler.

The first rain delay - which came at 49-1 after 6.2 overs and initially reduced the match to 17 overs a side - paused England's rebuild and during the three overs and two balls possible before the second one, Malan skied Pat Cummins' third slower delivery in succession to Marsh at mid-off.

England seized all the momentum once the weather relented with Buttler, chiefly, and Stokes ending the innings with a flourish before Woakes shredded an Australia top order shorn of Warner, the opener sitting out this game after taking a knock to the neck fielding in the last match.

Finch holed out to deep point, Marsh was pouched at short third and Maxwell spooned to mid-off, leaving England as overwhelming favourites to win the game - before the weather had the final say at Manuka Oval.

Speaking about his two wickets in two balls, Woakes told BT Sport: "It was a bit of a shock to me as well. The ball swung. I anticipated the ball to swing, but maybe not quite as much as it did in that first over.

"You never expect your first over to go like that to be honest."

He added: "We played well across the three games which was really promising for us moving forward - looking at the bigger picture with the World Cup around the corner.

"It bodes well for us. We feel pretty happy. The summer was probably a new start. Definitely feel since the Pakistan tour and then here, we're in a good place moving forward."

What's next?

England play their final T20 World Cup warm-up match against Pakistan in Brisbane on Monday, live on Sky Sports Cricket. Build-up begins at 8.30am, ahead of the first ball at 9am.

Buttler's side will then travel to Perth for their World Cup opener against Afghanistan on Saturday, October 22. The match gets under way at midday, with coverage on Sky Sports Cricket kicking off at 8.30am.

The T20 World Cup starts this Sunday, with the opening-day fixtures seeing 2014 champions Sri Lanka up against Namibia (5am start, Sky Sports Cricket) before UAE battle Netherlands (9am start, Sky Sports Cricket).