World champions Australia still clinched the series 6-1, but surrendered their recently-regained status as the leading one-day side. The win did little for England’s horror show in the ODI series but made sure that they go into the Champions Trophy in South Africa on a winning note.

After being put into bat by Andrew Strauss, Australia got into early trouble with some much disciplined bowling by the new ball pair of James Anderson and Graham Onions.  Shane Watson (0) lasted only four balls before he edged one from Anderson to first slip where Swann completed a comfortable catch. Tim Paine, who scored 111 at Trent Bridge on Thursday, made only four before snicking a catch to wicketkeeper Matthew Prior off the returning Onions.

That left Australia tottering at 17-2 in the fourth over but Ponting and Clarke steadied the innings with a third-wicket stand of 79 during which the Australian captain overtook Pakistan’s Inzaman-ul-haq to move up to third in the all-time batting list.s Although Ricky Ponting made 53, Australia had no real answer to the off-spin of Swann.

Soon after reaching his 68^th ODI half century, Ponting mistimed a delivery from Swann to Collingwood at mid-on. Clarke was next to go when he was beaten by Eoin Morgan’s throw from fine leg and Swann bowled Cameron White for one to leave the Australians on 112-5.

James Hopes added 11 off 23 balls before he lobbed an easy catch to bowler Swann and the spinner removed Mitchell Johnson for 10 and Brett Lee in the same over. Swann conceded only 28 runs off his 10 overs and England’s other spinner, Owais Shah, caught Nathan Hauritz off his own bowling for three.

Facing a modest victory target of 177, England openers Strauss and Denly took few risks and moved slowly but comfortably to a half-century partnership in the 12th over. Strauss reached 47 with only four boundaries before he gave an easy catch to Ben Hilfenhaus off spinner Hauritz in the 21st over. By then, however, England appeared to be cruising at 106-1.

Denly went on to reach his half-century before the opener was run out by Ponting for 53. Then Ravi Bopara was leg before to Watson for 13 and Shah and Morgan gave catches to wicketkeeper Paine to depart cheaply and England was tottering at 141-5. England scored off only one of the next 11 balls but, despite losing Prior for 11, made it to the victory target slowly but surely as they reached the total in the 40^th over.

Brief Scores:

England 177 for 6 (Denly 53) beat Australia 176 (Ponting 53, Swann 5-28) by four wickets

Man of the Match: Graeme Swann

Man of the Series: Cameron White

The 111-run loss was England’s heaviest home defeat in eight years, and 11th worst in their 517-game ODI history. It was, by some distance, the nadir of England’s already lamentable series, and will prompt much soul-searching barely a week away from their Champions Trophy opener against Sri Lanka.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, Australia were propelled by a third wicket partnership of 163 between Tim Paine and Michael Hussey as they posted 296 for 8 off their allotted quota of 50 overs. Paine and Hussey came together with the Aussies in a spot of bother at 40-2 in 9 overs. But both of them together posted Australia’s highest third-wicket partnership against England to lead the tourists to a very competitive total of 296.

Paine notched his maiden one-day international century in just his seventh match, while Hussey blasted a brisk 65 as part of a 163-run stand that eclipsed the previous record set by David Boon and Allan Border in Sharjah 22 years ago. The 24-year-old Paine, only playing after first-choice keeper Brad Haddin was ruled out of the series with a broken finger that will also sideline him from the Champions Trophy, had made his maiden ODI fifty at Lord’s on Saturday.

Although James Anderson (4-55) did make sure that the Aussies didn’t have get away with the game right from the beginning. Anderson made a double breakthrough. He had Shane Watson playing on and then made it two wickets for seven runs in 16 balls when he had Ponting hooking straight to Ryan Sidebottom at deep backward square leg. But Paine and Hussey made sure that after England didn’t have any more reasons to be happy after the initial breakthroughs.

In reply, England, chasing 297 to win, collapsed to 60 for 4 inside the first 15 overs and they were eventually dismissed for 185 with 9 overs still to spare. Only one England batsman got into the 30’s and that was number eight Tim Bresnan’s who made 31 not out.

The defeat in a way symbolised the kind of run that England has had in this series. They haven’t been able to put a foot right throughout apart from the first ODI in which they at least got close to the victory target losing out by just 3 runs. After that, it has been all Australia!

Brief Scores:

Australia 296 for 8 (Paine 111, Hussey 65, Anderson 4-55) beat England 185 (Bresnan 31*, Hopes 3-32) by 111 runs

Man of the Match: Tim Paine

Australia have already lost the No.1 test spot after losing the Ashes series and nothing short of a 7-0 whitewash will get them their No.1 ODI spot back and they are well on their way for that. Chasing a challenging target of 300 to win, Ponting scored 126 — his highest ODI score against England — and took Australia to a comfortable position before he was dismissed with the score at 261 in the 44^th over.

Ponting got the able support of his deputy, Michael Clarke, as the two put together 133 runs for the 3^rd wicket after the tourists had lost openers Tim Paine (16) and Shane Watson (36) in the first 15 overs. Clarke (52) was dismissed as he couldn’t clear the man at square-leg and was caught by Owais Shah off the bowling of Adil Rashid.

England then had a chance to come back into the game as Michael Hussey (6) also fell soon but Australia’s find of the series, Callum Ferguson (17), along with Ponting, took the team within striking distance with a 29-run partnership. Both Ponting and Ferguson fell to Broad in the 44^th over but it was a little too late by then with Australia needing just 39 runs in the last six overs with the batting power play still available.

Cameron White (24 not out) and Mitchell Johnson (18 not out) finished up the game without any more hiccups as Australia reached home comfortably with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, England skipper Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first. England’s batting has been their biggest worry throughout the series but they managed to put up a very competitive 299 on the board this time around thanks to the former Irish batsmen Eoin Morgan who made 58 off just 41 balls with four boundaries and three maximum’s.

England were yet again given a very good start by Strauss and Denly as the two put together 61 for the first wicket in just 13.1 overs before Strauss (35) was dismissed lbw to Hauritz. Ravi Bopara’s struggle against Australia continued when, on 18, he hoisted Bracken straight to Hauritz at deep square leg.

England then saw 95 for two become 105 for three when Joe Denly, who’d been batting well, tried to manufacture a shot off Johnson and holed out for 45. Matt Prior and Owais Shah’s stand of 67 in 60 deliveries provided some stability to the England innings before Prior was stumped for 37 by opposing wicketkeeper Tim Paine off the under-rated Hauritz, whose two for 54 made him Australia’s leading bowler of the innings.

England were 165 for four and yet again in danger of failing to make a decent score when Morgan came to the crease. But Eoin Morgan’s maiden One-day international fifty powered England to a score of 299 but even that didn’t prove to be enough.

England’s middle-order resurgence may not have come in time to save the series for the hosts, but it will provide the team management with a sense of optimism ahead of the Champions Trophy starting later this month in South Africa.

Brief Scores:

Australia 302 for 6 (Ponting 126, Clarke 52, Broad 2-57) beat England 299 (Morgan 58, Hauritz 2-54) by four wickets

Man of the Match: Ricky Ponting

Wright was batting in the indoor nets at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, central England, when he was hit on the toe by a ball from the machine and had to have stitches inserted into the injury. The Sussex all-rounder will now be assessed ahead of Tuesday’s day-nighter at Trent Bridge in Nottingham where England, already 4-0 down with three to play, will try to win their first match of this one-day international series.

Wright is not the only England player to have sustained a bizarre injury in recent weeks.

Joe Denly was ruled out of the start of the series after a football warm-up clash with fellow England batsman Owais Shah saw him injure his left knee.

“I want to keep increasing my speed as I have during this series, starting off 88mph and working up to 96mph,” Lee told reporters. “There’s no reason I can’t go faster, but at the end of the day if you bowl 98mph and spray them everywhere it’s not very effective. There’s a happy medium, but I’d like to see my pace keep increasing and pushing 100mph. There’s always talk about your age but I’m feeling really fit, probably the fittest I’ve ever felt. I’m only 32 and I want to keep bowling in excess of 90mph for a long time yet.”

Lee’s ninth limited overs ‘five for’ and his second at Lords helped Australia bowl England out for 220 and World champions Australia then cruised to victory with 7 wickets in hand. Australian captain Ricky Ponting made 48 on his return after a post-Ashes break but it was his heir apparent, Michael Clarke, who led the team home with an unbeaten 62.

But all eyes at Lord’s were on man-of-the-match Lee, who produced a succession of rapid yorkers, some over 93mph, to clean bowl Matt Prior, Luke Wright and Adil Rashid in a 10-over spell that also saw Joe Denly caught in the slips and Stuart Broad’s stumps knocked over.

“There’s a big difference between bowling in the nets and in Test cricket than bowling in one-day cricket,” explained Lee, who before this tour hadn’t played a limited overs international since July 2008, against the West Indies in St Kitts, after being ruled out with first foot and then heel injuries. “It’s a different format and when the ball is tailing back into a right-hander, the yorker is a weapon I’ve always enjoyed bowling with. There are days when you land it and days when you don’t.”

“If you can get one through the defences and see stumps flying…that’s why I keep playing cricket. There’s no better feeling,” he added.

Lee’s performance was also a reminder to Australian fans of what might have been during the Ashes, where Lee didn’t play a single Test after missing the series opener with a side strain and not being selected when he’d regained fitness.

“I don’t think it makes up for what’s happened in the Test series,” Lee said. “It certainly brings a smile to my face, put it that way. I’ve left the Ashes behind me now, I have dealt with that and moved on. The only thing I can try and do is take wickets in one-day matches to prove I can play Test cricket again.”

For Strauss, this defeat represented a familiar story.

“Our batting unit hasn’t fired for four games,” he said. “The batting group has got to be better. It’s as simple as that. The thing you want to avoid is getting more and more negative and more and more hesitant.”

Strauss took no consolation from his own form, adding, “I’m doing relatively well but I’m as culpable as anyone. Getting out for 60-odd is no good.” Talking about Lee, Strauss said, “If a guy’s bowling 95mph yorkers, it’s hard work. I thought it was a sensational spell.”

Soon after the match was over, the ball with which Lee had done so much damage was on display in the Lord’s Museum. “To take a five-for at Lord’s is something that is a very, very special part of my cricketing life so far,” Lee said.

“I don’t play for that factor of the game but when they asked for it (the ball) straight away to be put on lend for 12 months I said, ‘well if I can get it back after 12 months, definitely’,”  he added.

Lee scalped five wickets for 49 runs in 9 overs of accurate and hostile fast bowling as he dismantled the timber of four English batsmen with fast and straight yorkers. England were dismissed for 220 with 21 balls to spare and Australia chased down the total very comfortably in just 43.4 overs with 7 wickets in hand.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was playing his first match in the ODI series, made 48 and vice-captain Michael Clarke scored a brisk 62 not out to take Australia home safely after they had were given a good platform by opener Tim Paine who made 51.

Earlier, Lee produced a trio of 93mph-plus yorkers to clean bowl Matt Prior, Luke Wright, Stuart Broad and Adil Rashid, having previously dismissed Joe Denly. It was the ninth time the 32-year-old quick, out with a side injury at the start of the Ashes and unable to get back in during the remainder of England’s 2-1 triumph, had taken five wickets in an innings in 179 ODIs.

He was well-supported by off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who took two wickets for 23 runs in 10 extremely miserly overs as England’s batting woes continued. England captain Andrew Strauss made 63 for the second consecutive time but yet England yet again saw a top order collapse with no other home batsman making more than Owais Shah’s 39.

England, who rested all-rounder Paul Collingwood and fast bowler James Anderson, were on course for a 7-0 whitewash in India late last year before the Mumbai terror attacks led to the suspension of their tour when they were 5-0 down. But barely a fortnight after their Ashes success, losing this series 7-0 is now a real possibility.

Strauss, who won a fourth straight toss, struck three boundaries in four balls off left-arm quick Nathan Bracken thanks to two cuts and a leg-glance. But Kent opener Denly, playing his first ODI against a Test opposition fell for 11 after edging Lee to first slip where Cameron White took a comfortable catch. Skipper Strauss completed a 48-ball fifth with eight fours.

Strauss, who also made 63 in England’s six-wicket loss at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, had said after that match, “When you are batting well you have to make hay, and I haven’t done that.” But he made the same mistake again as he top edged a sweep off Hauritz to Bracken.

Well, with Australia 4-0 ahead in the series, there is nothing much left for England to play for now. But they should still be looking to get some wins under their belt to go into the Champions Trophy with some confidence.

Brief Scores:

Australia 221 for 3 (Clarke 62*, Paine 51) beat England 220 (Strauss 63, Lee 5-49) by seven wickets

Man of the Match: Brett Lee

With this win, Australia now has to win just one more match out of the remaining 4 matches to win the series. England won the toss once again and this time they decided to bat first. They got off to very good start again thanks to Andrew Strauss and Ravi Bopara who added 41 in 7.5 overs.

But, Ravi Bopara and Matthew Prior fell within the space of six balls to slow an uncharacteristically quick start and, although captain Andrew Strauss hit 63, the home side’s efforts to translate its Test success into limited-overs cricket continued to fail.

Watson took 3-36 as only a 40-run ninth-wicket partnership from Bresnan (31) and Ryan Sidebottom (24) pushed the score past 200 to give England’s bowlers something to bowl at. Eoin Morgan managed a relatively brisk 43 but Paul Collingwood’s 28 from 52 balls were more typical of the kind of batting performance we have been witnessing from England in this series.

In reply, Australia lost Shane Watson early when James Anderson trapped him lbw with the score on just 16. Tim Paine (29) also didn’t last long as he was also trapped in front of the wickets by Collingwood with the score at 52. The fall of the second wicket brought White and Clarke together and they made sure that Australia didn’t have any more hiccups. For differing reasons, White and Clarke had plenty to prove in this contest – the return of Ricky Ponting for Saturday’s fourth ODI will require White to vacate his No. 3 spot, and Clarke to hand back the captaincy.

Clarke (52) was dismissed with the score at 195 after adding 143 for the 3^rd wicket with Cameron White. But the night clearly belonged to one man — Cameron White.

It was a night for White to celebrate his arrival on the international stage. Having never batted higher than No. 5 before this series, his 116-ball 105 followed on from his maiden half-century in the first match at The Oval, and whereas England’s batsmen have continually found new and innovative ways to throw away their promising starts, he went against his reputation as a hitter to set himself a platform and, then, crucially, to build on it.

With the series at 3-0, England will have to come up with something very special to make a comeback in this series. They are clearly missing Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen in the team but all they can do right now is go back to the drawing board, get their basics right and give it their all in the next 4 matches.

Brief Scores:

Australia 230 for 4 (White 105, Clarke 52) beat England 228 for 9 (Strauss 63, Watson 3-36) by six wickets

Man of the Match: Cameron White

Broad, who helped England reclaim the Ashes, has been told to have further rest after suffering a neck strain in the opening match of the series on Friday. The injury prevented the 23-year-old from playing any role at Lord’s on Sunday as Australia opened up a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.

Broad will rejoin the squad on Thursday and is expected to be fit for the fourth match of the series at Lord’s on Saturday.

Kent opening batsman Joe Denly is also unavailable for Wednesday’s day-night encounter due to the knee injury that has prevented him playing any part in the series so far. Denly suffered the injury playing football with his team-mates in a warm-up for the first match.

Flintoff, who has been ruled out of international cricket for at least 6 months following a knee surgery, was originally named in the squad for the Champions Trophy.

Onions is yet to make his ODI debut but has been called in as a cover for the English bowling unit after they lost the first two ODI’s of the series against Australia. He will join up with the team Tuesday, a day before the third ODI against Australia at the Rose Bowl.

Australia once again exploited England’s lack of power hitters as they beat the hosts in the second ODI by 39 runs and took a 2-0 lead in the 7-match series. Chasing a modest total of 250 to win, England were bowled out for 210 even after they were given a very good start by Strauss and Bopara with the opening pair adding 74 for the first wicket.

Earlier, being put into bat, Australia were given a decent start by Shane Watson and Tim Paine as they added 62 for the first wicket. But they lost some quick wickets and went from being 62-0 to 155-5.

But their saviour from the last match, Callum Ferguson, again stood up when it was needed. He made 55 and Mitchell Johnson finished it off well with a 23-ball 43 to help Australia set up a reasonable total of 249-8. In fact, it was Johnson’s innings which proved to be decisive in the end. Australia was 208-8 at one stage when Johnson and Hauritz came together. They didn’t look like using up their allocation, but Johnson swung powerfully to club 43 from 23 balls and add 41 off the last 4.2 overs with Nathan Hauritz.

England had been progressing well in response to Australia’s 249 for eight wickets but Shane Watson’s introduction into the attack started a spell of four wickets in 33 deliveries that derailed the chase. England picked up the scoring rate after its sluggish batting cost it a four-run loss at The Oval but was undone by the middle order’s inability to build big partnerships.

Other than an opening stand of 74 between Ravi Bopara and Strauss, England’s best partnership was 36 for the eighth wicket between Graeme Swann and Collingwood, who became the fifth Englishman after Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb to score 4,000 one-day runs.

England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and apart from Collingwood (56) and Strauss (47), no England batsman looked comfortable at the crease. For Australia, Brett Lee looked like coming back to his best picking up 2-22 from 8.1 overs. Bracken, Johnson and Watson also picked up 2 wickets each.

The teams now head to Southampton for the third game in the seven-match series on Wednesday.

Brief Scores:

Australia 249 for 8 (Ferguson 55, Johnson 43*, Wright 2-52) beat England 210 (Collingwood 56, Lee 2-22, Watson 2-26) by 39 runs

Man of the Match: Mitchell Johnson