Captain Aaron Finch said it was a relief to get a first win on the board since Australia returned from a long international hiatus caused by the pandemic.

Finch and his men avoided a whitewash as they survived a mid-innings wobble to beat England by five wickets in the final T20I here on Tuesday and regain their top ranking in the game’s shortest format.

“We know where we messed up in the first game, we know where we could improve. We played good cricket but couldn’t finish it off.

“Fortunately, in this game, Mitch and Ashton (Agar) got us over the line,” he said. “It’s been great learning curve after a long lay-off. We are focusing on the positives.”

Restricting England to 145/6, Australia appeared to be cruising as they reached 70/1 off seven overs before three wickets for Adil Rashid slammed the brakes on their progress.

But England’s fielding was ragged and they spilled several catches before Mitchell Marsh eased Australian nerves with an unbeaten 39.

“Six months is a long time without playing cricket, so it was nice to get an opportunity and contribute,” said all-rounder Marsh. “We got outplayed in the first two matches, but it was nice to finish off the series with a win.”

Brief scores: England 145/6 in 20 ovs (J. Bairstow 55; A. Zampa 2/34). Australia 146/5 in 19.3 ovs (M. Marsh 39 n.o.; A. Rashid 3/21). Australia win by 5 wickets.