Jos Buttler saved England's blushes on Thursday, counter-attacking against Australia to lift his side to 271-8 after they collapsed on the opening day of the fifth Ashes Test. World Cup winners England, desperate to level the series at 2-2, have struggled to find consistency and contributed to their own downfall at the Oval, slipping from 170-3 to 226-8. But Buttler, who struggled early on, dipped into his white-ball playbook, smashing paceman Josh Hazlewood for successive sixes as Jack Leach dug in at the other end. Buttler ended the day 64 not out, while Leach was unbeaten on 10 but England will need to add runs on Friday on what looks like a good pitch for batting. Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh claimed four wickets on his return to the side.

Pat Cummins and Hazlewood were again impressive for the tourists. "If you bowl well, there's wickets there, but if you bat well and apply yourself there's runs there," Buttler told Sky Sports. "We'll hopefully try to get a few more in the morning." Speaking about his own innings, Buttler, who reached his 50 off 60 balls, including three sixes, said: "It was tough to start with. "I've found batting tough all summer in this series so it was nice in the end to take the shackles off and try to have some fun."- Australia eye Ashes win -Australia are seeking their first Ashes series win in England for 18 years and Marsh said the tourists were pleased with their day's work despite England's late flourish. "It (the score) could have been even less than that if we'd held our catches early on," he said.