England captain Alastair Cook has heaped praise on Jos Buttler after his maiden international century in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka today.
England's chances looked slim after Kumar Sangakkara's century had helped Sri Lanka to 300-9, and their chase got off to a poor start until Buttler and Ravi Bopara (51) put on a stand of 133.
Buttler ended with 121 off just 74 balls, but his magnificent knock proved to be in vain as England fell just seven runs short of what would have been their joint second-highest run chase in the format.
"It was looking pretty bleak before those two got going. It was a great partnership. When you're chasing 300 at Lord's, it's very hard to defend. We didn't quite get the first 20 overs right," Cook told Sky Sports News.
"That partnership was fantastic. It just couldn't quite get us there. We know what a special talent Jos is. The way he batted was brilliant. Jos played so well. He doesn't deserve to be on the losing side.
"When you lose two wickets in the first couple of overs, there's always going to be some rebuilding. We know we have to play those first 30 overs better to chase down 300. Those outstanding innings that we're getting at the death, they're to get us above par score or to chase it down."
Sri Lanka's win means that the series is now level at 2-2 ahead of a decider at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Barney Corkhill
