AB de Villiers is England's Jos Buttler's 'Role Model'

Jos Buttler said AB de Villiers was his "role model" but insisted he'd a long way to go to match the standards of the South African star despite a dazzling hundred against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

Buttler's thrilling century off just 66 balls, which followed an almost as quick 71-ball ton from Joe Root, allowed England to post a mammoth score of 408 for nine in the first of a five-match one-day series with the Black Caps. (McCullum Lauds England's 'Fearless' Cricket)

It was the first time England had passed 400 in ODI cricket, while their eventual 210-run winning margin was another national record. (England Need 'Entertainer' Pietersen: Gayle)

England were in danger of undoing all their good early work at 202 for six but Buttler and Adil Rashid (69) belied the team's reputation for conservative one-day cricket with a stunning seventh-wicket partnership of 177.

Buttler's '360 degree' approach to batting has invited comparisons with Proteas maestro de Villiers, but the 24-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman told reporters: "I'm not sure I'm quite at those guys' level yet.

"AB de Villiers is someone who has been a role model for me for a long period of time -- someone who has changed batting, I think, over the past few years -- and everyone is trying to emulate him.

"That's the role I want to play in English cricket. ('Near-Perfect' England Excites Skipper Morgan)

"I want to be that guy who can go out like I did and play those kind of innings and try to do that consistently," added Buttler, now the vice-captain of England's one-day side.

What made England's display at Edgbaston all the more extraordinary was that it was in complete contrast to their eight-wicket defeat by the eventual World Cup finalists when they last played New Zealand in white-ball cricket at Wellington in February.

England suffered a humiliating first-round exit at the global showpiece tournament and one-day skipper Eoin Morgan vowed afterwards they would opt for a more dynamic approach to the 50-over game.

But few expected England to make good on his words as soon as the opening match of the New Zealand one-day series.

However, Buttler insisted it wasn't an absence of effort that held England back at the World Cup, but rather a loss of confidence allied to questionable tactics.

"It wasn't through lack of trying before -- it's not as if we wanted to play (like) that," said Lancashire glove-man Buttler.

"We weren't playing well enough."

The England-New Zealand series continues at The Oval on Friday.