— PHOTO: R.V. Moorthy

GREAT EFFORT: It was a superb bowling performance by the Australians. Here Sajid Mahmood is being caught and bowled by Nathan Bracken.

JAIPUR: Australia swept England aside in a comprehensive demonstration of skilful bowling by Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson combined with some purposeful batting by Damien Martyn that reduced this Champions Trophy contest to a mismatch at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Saturday. The six - wicket victory came with 79 balls to spare.

The bowlers made the most of Ricky Ponting's decision to bowl first with Johnson and Watson picking three wickets each after England had made a superb start, scoring 83 runs without loss. The English collapse was typical, with no batsman, with the exception of the openers, Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss, applying himself.

"We started well, but in the end it was not enough," said England skipper Andrew Flintoff.

Fascinating show

If there was something to cherish from this bland match, it was the fascinating show by `man of the match' Damien Martyn. His sublime strokeplay was a lesson in timing of the ball. He began with a sensational pull in the front off speedster Steve Harmison and then a flurry of effortlessly executed drives leaving gaping holes in the English defence. The 118-run partnership between Martyn and Mike Hussey made the day for the 3000-odd spectators. "We were waiting for this game from the time the Ashes was over. I enjoyed the moment," said Martyn.

Australia, in pursuit of 170 to win, lost Adam Gilchrist, Ponting and Watson in quick succession, and an English revival looked possible. But Martyn quickly eased the pressure with some authoritative shots that swung the match away from England.

Birthday boy

Martyn, who lit up the venue on his 35th birthday, was decisive in his approach and contributed towards lifting the quality of the contest in the second half of the match. Martyn's 78 came off 91 balls with 12 fours, while Hussey's effort of 32 off 85 balls contained two fours, the first coming after facing 67 balls.

The crowd, which expected on-field fireworks on a Diwali evening, had to leave the venue disappointed after England put up a shoddy performance to suffer its second defeat in the tournament.

English surrender

The English surrender was in keeping with its form. Flintoff was rusty, and Kevin Pietersen lacked in concentration. The Australian bowlers took time to find their rhythm, but once the line and length fell in place, England found the going tough.

The start was healthy with Strauss (56 off 90 balls with six fours) and Bell (43 off 60 balls with seven fours) launching the English challenge. Bell survived a chance too when Martyn dropped him at 23 off Glenn McGrath. It was England's best phase of the contest, but the innings came apart steadily.

The departure of Bell put the onus on Pietersen, who walked in at No. 3, only to disappoint. Flintoff failed to take off too and England lost its way as Australia bowled the middle overs with far greater craft. The world champion was a worthy winner on Saturday night.

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