Buttler blossoms as a finisher

England

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler welcomed the Man of the Match award, after leading England to a three-wicket win over Australia in Saturday's fourth ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler welcomed the Man of the Match award, after leading England to a three-wicket win over Australia in Saturday's fourth ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

England's pursuit of a testing 228-run target was jolted by seamer Clint McKay's hat-trick, which removed opener Kevin Pietersen, number three Jonathan Trott and the talented Joe Root to leave the score a mere eight for three.

Half-centuries from the left-handed Michael Carberry and captain Eoin Morgan initiated the fightback, with Buttler's unbeaten 65 off just 48 deliveries completing the job with three deliveries to spare.

"It is definitely great, great to be not out and the end and win. The knock at Old Trafford gave me a lot of confidence, so this is brilliant. That's my role, finishing games, so I want to play more like this," enthused Butler.

The right-handed Butler cherished a fine 75-run alliance inside 10 overs alongside all-rounder Ben Stokes and, later, completed the result by spanking fast bowler Mitchell Johnson for six over midwicket and four down the ground.

"I've played a lot with Ben, it was good to be out there with him. We couldn't quite see the ball on tight runs. I think Johnson did me with a slower ball at the end and it just went straight up. The ball has been going into the gloves nicely since the Champions Trophy, so great to continue," concluded Butler.

The fifth and final ODI will get underway at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Monday.

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