England beat Australia by one wicket on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in their one-day international series.
Tim Bresnan hit the winning runs at Old Trafford with five balls to spare in the third of five one-day matches. It was England’s first ODI series win over Australia since 1997.
England finished at 214-9 in reply to Australia’s 212 all out.
England were heading for a comfortable win at 184-3 before collapsing to 203-9. Doug Bollinger took 3-20 and Shaun Tait got 3-28 for Australia.
“It was quite horrendous in the last 10 overs,” England captain Andrew Strauss said. “We thought we were cruising. It just goes to show that the job’s never done.”
Strauss hit 87 from 121 balls and Paul Collingwood made 40.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting said his side needed to expose England’s tail earlier.
“We were probably a bit late getting through to those guys,” Ponting said. “If there is a positive to take, it’s that we stuck to our task pretty well, but sitting here now I feel we probably should have won.”
Earlier Australia faltered from 75-0 to 212 all out. Graeme Swann took 4-37 and James Anderson 3-22, while Shane Watson was Australia’s top scorer with 61 from 76 balls.
Fears that the attendance would be hit by England’s soccer World Cup game with Germany proved unfounded, though the capacity crowd of 22,000 at Old Trafford greeted news of the German goals in silence. Germany won 4-1.
England won the toss and Strauss chose to field. After a cautious start, Australia went after Bresnan taking 18 from the eighth over.
Every bowler apart from Anderson leaked runs as Tim Paine and Watson went on the attack, until Michael Yardy was called on to bowl.
With Australia on 75-0, Yardy trapped Paine lbw for 44 and Swann dismissed Ponting four overs later.
Ponting had made just 3 when he charged down the wicket and was stumped by Craig Kieswetter.
Watson reached his 50 from 54 balls, but was dismissed by a delivery from Swann that he chipped straight to Strauss at square leg.
Cameron White had made just 12 when he tried to sweep Swann and fell to a diving catch by Strauss.
Michael Clarke got himself out for 33 in the 39th over when he played a poor shot off Swann and was easily caught at long-off by substitute fielder Ian Bell.
Ten balls later Michael Hussey was bowled by Collingwood for 21.
James Hopes was dismissed by Anderson with the last ball of the 44th over when he played on for 7. Ryan Harris lasted just two balls before he was caught by Strauss at mid-wicket off Broad for 1 in the very next over.
In the 46th over Anderson had Smith lbw for 20 and the innings came to a premature end when Anderson bowled Bollinger for 3.
England’s chase got off to a bad start when Kieswetter was bowled first ball by Tait.
However, Strauss and Kevin Pietersen put on 51 for the next wicket before Tait dismissed Pietersen.
His dismissal occurred just as news filtered through that England had scored in the World Cup and Pietersen ironically walked back to the pavilion to a huge cheer.
Strauss reached his 50 from 68 balls, but Collingwood was then bowled for 40 by Bollinger.
Eoin Morgan lifted the mood when he smashed a ball from Hopes straight back over the bowler’s head for a towering six.
Morgan scooped Tait for four behind the wicketkeeper, but England then nearly threw the game away.
Morgan was caught by Ponting off Steven Smith for 27, Strauss was caught behind off Harris and Luke Wright holed out to Smith and was caught by Hopes.
Bresnan was nearly caught by Clarke off an outside edge and Tait then removed Yardy for 8, caught behind.
Bollinger’s last over, the 48th, was a double-wicket maiden. He bowled Swann for 1 and then added Broad without scoring, but Bresnan took seven off Harris in the penultimate over to leave England needing three off the final over, with nine wickets down.
Ponting’s decision to hand the ball to Hopes immediately backfired as Bresnan smashed him for four, giving England the victory.
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