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England gains hope in five-test Ashes series after victory

Man of the match Kevin Pietersen blasted 91 off only 65 balls -- including 17 runs in one over -- to lead England to victory on Sunday over struggling Australia.

Chasing 252 for 9 wickets, England scored 253-7 in the NatWest one-day international series.

The defeat ended a miserable weekend for the world No. 1 after its shock five-wicket loss to Bangladesh on Saturday in the same tournament -- described by Australian captain Ricky Ponting as the worst defeat of his captaincy.

Australia has now lost four games in a row, including limited overs matches to England last Monday and English second division county side Somerset on Wednesday.

The unexpected bad form has raised England's hopes it could win the five-test Ashes series, starting July 21, which Australia has won on the last eight occasions.

Sunday's game could have gone either way, and Ponting was upbeat afterward.

"We've got a lot of positives to take out of the game ... Unfortunately we weren't just quite good enough at the end," he said.

"We didn't start chasing that well," said England captain Michael Vaughan who hit 57 after openers Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss had been dismissed for 16 each.

At 150-5 off 35.3 overs, England still required more than 100 runs in the 50-over game. When that became 160-6 off 37.4, the task began to look beyond England.

But Pietersen was ready to hit out, smashing 8 fours and some 4 sixes in what Vaughan described as an "unbelievable knock, almost genius-like."

Jon Lewis, playing on his home County Ground, hit the winning run as England passed Australia's total with two-and-a-half overs to spare.

Pietersen knocked 17 runs off the 46th over -- bowled by Jason Gillespie -- who ended with 0-66 from 10 overs. Glenn McGrath took 2-34 off nine overs and Brad Hogg 3-42 in 10.

Earlier, Michael Hussey hit 84 runs off 83 balls as Australia reached 252 for nine.

The tourists had started well by winning the toss and reaching 57 without loss after 11 overs.

But England fast bowler Steve Harmison claimed three wickets in the 12th over, reducing Australia to 57-3.

Adam Gilchrist was his first victim, caught behind by Geraint Jones for 26. Ponting was out leg before wicket the next ball.

Damien Martyn denied Harmison his hat-trick but clipped the next delivery over slips into the hands of third man Pietersen.

Harmison ended with five wickets for 33 runs off 10 overs.

The tourists were reduced to 63-4 after Matthew Hayden went for 31, thanks to a superb leaping one-handed catch by Paul Collingwood.
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