Jos Buttler was looking forward to the Champions Trophy after helping England to victory in yesterday's third one-day international.
He was named man-of-the-match after his 47 from 16 balls gave the home side late momentum which helped them to 287 for six at Trent Bridge. New Zealand could only manage 253 in reply, giving Alastair Cook's side a 34-run success which reduced the NatWest Series deficit to 2-1.
Somerset player Buttler told the post-match presentation ceremony: "It was a good opportunity, with a licence to go out and express myself at the end of the innings. We got a good score in the end and defended it well, and it's nice to contribute to a winning performance. Hopefully, there are many more to come. It's great to have the Champions Trophy in England and everyone is very much looking forward to it."
Cook said: "At the beginning of the day, a win was very important and I thought we played very well. Jos was the difference between the sides. We haven't quite got it right in this series, we've been fairly close getting ourselves into positions and letting it slip with the bat or ball, but we're almost there. If you are not there 100% you get beaten easily, as we were in the first two games."
Asked whether two spinners was an option in the Champions Trophy following James Tredwell and Joe Root's contribution in the match, Cook added: "Two spinners is a thought. We are lucky to have two very different spinners, so they could play together."
Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, said: "I thought we were good for the majority of the day but Jos Buttler's innings was world class and to concede 76 off four overs –you've got to acknowledge some excellent batting [by England].
"Otherwise, our performance was very good and showed if we can execute our plans accordingly, we are a very good side. We possess some destructive players but with new rules it can be hard to defend at times. We played reasonably well but England deserved their win."
Buttler's astonishing hitting transformed England's fortunes in this the third and final NatWest Series match. With the series already gone, the best England could do here to restore some self-belief before the start of their Champions Trophy campaign against Australia on Saturday was to avoid a first home whitewash in this format since 2006.
Their struggle to 211 for five after 46 overs, Ian Bell top-scoring with 82, gave them anything but obvious prospects of doing so but after Buttler's unbeaten 47 from just 16 balls and Eoin Morgan's 49 had turned that into 287 for six, they held on to the winning momentum.
New Zealand raced to 69 for one in the 10th over of their reply, and Ross Taylor (71) kept Kiwi hopes alive until he was ninth out in the 43rd over –brilliantly caught, principally by Steven Finn who ferried an attempt at a third successive 6 off James Tredwell (three for 51) safely away from the boundary rope and into the hands of Tim Bresnan.
Stuart Broad had broken a hectic opening stand when Luke Ronchi mistimed a pull to mid-on but it was Tredwell's breakthrough – with the precious wicket of Martin Guptill, after more than 350 one-day international runs against England this year without previously being dismissed – which began the consolidation of Buttler's outstanding performance. The England wicketkeeper-batsman's power and invention, in a sequence of 6-4-4-4-0-4 off Kyle Mills, provided the catalyst for a stand of 62 with Morgan in only 22 balls which completely changed the complexion of the match.
Mitchell McClenaghan, previously so successful in stifling England, was sufficiently rattled to produce a 10-ball over including two wides and two no-balls. Buttler did not spare Tim Southee either, and had he managed his fourth 6 from the final ball of the innings, he would have recorded the fastest 50 in ODI history.
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