England’s bid to claim a T20 series clean sweep over Australia was denied by intermittent showers at Canberra despite the best efforts of Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes.

Buttler’s 65 not out off 41 balls helped England to 112 for two after two downpours had reduced the third T20 to 17 then 12 overs per side, while Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 17 off 10 deliveries.

Australia were set 130 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method but their hopes of a consolation win were hindered as Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh were snared by Woakes in the first two balls of the reply.

Woakes had his third by dismissing Glenn Maxwell but, with just seven more balls to get to five overs which would constitute a result, a third deluge proved terminal with Australia on 30 for three.

A no-result means England walk away with a 2-0 win, their first series triumph under Buttler since he assumed the limited-overs captaincy in June, having been a bystander for the 4-3 victory in Pakistan due to injury.

They appear to be hitting their straps ahead of the beginning of their World Cup campaign next Saturday despite this result, having been asked to bat first for the third time in the series.

Josh Hazlewood bowled a classic Test match length to see the back of Alex Hales for a two-ball duck, angling in to draw the outside edge but Dawid Malan expertly flicked Pat Cummins off his toes before handsomely pulling over the in-field for two fours in the over to settle the tourists.

Buttler made a watchful start and was on four off 10 balls before lofting Hazlewood straight down the ground, while he pierced the in-field expertly a couple of times before the powerplay’s end.

After a 50-minute delay, Malan perished for 23 off 19 balls when he toe-ended a Cummins off-cutter in the air to Marsh before another downpour led to a 40-minute interruption and a further reduction in overs.

With just 14 deliveries left, they added 39, started by Stokes, who clattered the first ball after the resumption – a drag down from Maxwell – high over deep midwicket. Buttler, meanwhile, went into finisher mode and accelerated to a 35-ball fifty with three successive fours off Hazlewood.

Hazlewood, perhaps struggling to grip the ball, yielded 22 in his penultimate over which ended when Buttler carted a half-tracker for six, to go with his seven fours, although Maxwell’s sensational diving stop moments earlier prevented the damage from being worse.

Maxwell conceded nine in the last over and nearly ran out Stokes, who tripped before regaining his ground as he and Buttler put on an unbroken 49 off 25 balls, at the finish of a stop-start innings.

Any sense the shifting of the goalposts put England behind the eight-ball was rendered an irrelevance as Finch endured a forgettable 100th T20 for Australia when he advanced to Woakes and clubbed to deep point.

It got even better for England as Woakes, finding a bit of movement with the new ball, had two in two when he drew a leading edge from Marsh to short third.

Maxwell – promoted to open in the absence of David Warner, sidelined as a precaution with a neck injury after experiencing whiplash-like symptoms following an awkward landing while fielding last time out – hammered Reece Topley over deep midwicket but then hit Woakes to mid-off.

The 33-year-old had his best T20 figures of three for four but England’s hopes of victory were rebuffed by the inclement weather as the series came to a soggy end.

England will finalise their World Cup preparations against Pakistan in a warm-up in Brisbane on Monday before heading to Perth afterwards for their Super 12s opener versus Afghanistan next weekend.