Advantage Australia after England collapse to 169

Jaipur, Oct 21 (UNI) England flattered only to decieve again, squandering a solid start as Australian bowlers bounced back to clean up the arch rivals for a paltry 169 in 45 overs in a crucial Group A Champions Trophy tie at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here today.

Openers Andrew Strauss (56) and Ian Bell (43) laid the foundations well before the middle-order collapsed inexplicably and handed the Aussies advantage in the eagerly anticipated match.

Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson scalped three wickets apiece to derail the England innings.

Wary of the dew factor, the Australians took to the field after winning the toss. For once the decsion seemed like going horribly wrong after the openers gave England a sound start and added 83 for the first wicket in 19 overs.

Keen to prove a point after a disastrous bating display against India here on Sunday, England started cautiously with both Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell circumspect in the initial overs. Both the openers got into the groove soon and Bell flicked Nathan bracken through mid-wicket in the fourth over to bring the first boundary of the innings.

With the odd ball keeping low, Strauss played a patient knock and waited till the sixth over before resorting to some willow weilding.

Ponting introduced his trump card Glenn Mcgrath in the sixth over but Strauss subjected the veteran bowler to an unceremonious thrashing by hitting him for consecutive boundaries.

Both the Englishmen appeared to have taken exception to McGrath's remark that the Aussies would whitewash the Poms in Ashes next month as they plundered 27 runs off a four-over spell by the paceman.

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