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England 208 for 6 (Hales 84, Buttler 68, Ellis 3-20) beat Australia 200 for 9 (Warner 73, Marsh 36, Wood 3-34) by eight runs
Perth: Alex Hales whacked 84 off 51 balls as he spearheaded England's eight-run victory over Australia in the first T20 international at Perth on Sunday.
Hales put on 132 in just 11.2 overs with skipper Jos Buttler (68) as the pair provided the bulk of the runs in England's 208-6, with Nathan Ellis (3-20) the standout bowler for the hosts.
David Warner clubbed 73 off 44 balls - with support from Mitchell Marsh (36) and Marcus Stoinis (35) - to keep Australia in the contest.
But when Warner was the sixth man out to Mark Wood (3-34) with three overs left, it put too much pressure on Australia's lower order in Perth and England closed out the game.
Australia needed 16 off the final over but Sam Curran had Matthew Wade (21) caught at mid-wicket and then bowled Ellis for a duck as the left-arm seamer kept his cool to finish with 2-35.
Buttler even felt he had enough runs to play with to act with diplomacy with his handling of a potential controversial incident late in Australia's attempts to chase a record T20 total against England.
Wade seemed to impede Wood as he went for a return catch in the 17th over after the Aussie batter top-edged the ball into his helmet, but Buttler decline to appeal for obstructing the field.
England's batting dominance came with the caveat that Australia's attack was shorn of its frontline bowlers as Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa did not feature.
Nevertheless, the manner in which Buttler's bowlers held their nerve - and their catches at key times - to defend the total as they looked to build momentum before the World Cup was impressive.
Wood, in particular, solidified his presence as a key partnership breaker at crucial junctures in favourable batting conditions while Curran executed his variations to show he is a viable alternative to Chris Jordan at the death.
