Clarke, Johnson Lead Australia To Thrilling Win

Clarke, Johnson Lead Australia To Thrilling Win

Michael Clarke scored 80 in 72 balls as Australia beat England by two wickets in Sydney

©REUTERS/Brandon Malone (AUSTRALIA - Tags: SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images

Australia 334-8 (Clarke 82, Johnson 57) beat
England 333-6 (Trott 137, Strauss 63) by two wickets
Sixth One-Day International, Sydney
Scorecard

Australia captain Michael Clarke scored 82 before his side successfully chased down 334 to beat England by two wickets in the sixth One-Day International in Sydney.

Jonathan Trott's second century of the series for the tourists proved to be in vain as Australia charged to victory with four balls remaining, England unable to take advantage of Clarke's late dismissal.

John Hastings hit the winning runs when he edged Chris Woakes for four to fine leg after Australia had needed six to win from the final over.

Clarke made 82 in 70 balls and the decision to send in Mitchell Johnson ahead of Clarke, Cameron White (20) and David Hussey (38) worked beautifully, the left-hander hitting a quickfire 57 in 59 balls.

Shane Watson had got the run chase off to a flyer with a blistering knock of 51 in 34 balls while returning batsman Callum Ferguson kept up the momentum with 46 in 44 balls from number three in the order.

England kept themselves in the match with wickets - Steven Finn returning two for 51 - as well as the run outs of Ferguson, Steven Smith (0) and then Clarke - Trott making up for dropping him with an excellent throw.

However, Australia held their nerve with Hastings unbeaten on seven and Lee on two and thanks partly to Woakes opening the final over with a wide, they were able to get home with four balls to spare.

Trott had earlier played a majestic hand in making 137 in 126 balls, falling to the final ball of the innings when he was caught and bowled by Shaun Tait.

Andrew Strauss led by example - just as Clarke would do later - as he scored 63 from the top of the order and although Matthew Prior (18) fell cheaply, brisk contributions from Kevin Pietersen (29), Ian Bell (45) and Eoin Morgan (21) helped them steer to their biggest score of the series.

Trott hit 11 fours in his innings which was third ODI century and a new career-best effort.

Australia now lead the series 5-1 ahead of the final match in Perth on 6th February.

© Cricket World 2011