Ricky Ponting was the star of the show, hitting an incredible 126 from 109 deliveries, including 17 boundaries. His three sixes, two of which were hit in succession, quadrupled the number Australia have scored in the series, and included a sublime straight hit off Ryan Sidebottom that could seriously be considered one of the best shots ever seen on a cricket pitch.
The Australian captain did everything right. Other than struggling briefly with the medium pace of Dimitri Mascarenhas, he dominated the bowling, working the ball around, hitting anything remotely loose and always keeping up with the rate.
With support from Michael Clarke (52), Shane Watson (36) and Cameron White (24 not out from 15 balls), he took Australia close to the total, and White and Mitchell Johnson (18 not out from 12) did the rest - Johnson finishing the match with ten balls remaining by clubbing a huge six.
England helped the visitors with an appalling fielding display.
Earlier in the day, England surprised the critics by setting a decent target of 299. Young Eoin Morgan was the catalyst, hitting three sixes in a score of 58 from just 41 deliveries.
The run rate was always good for England, with Johnson disappearing for 80 runs in his ten overs, but the hosts' ongoing problem returned - no batsman went on to make a big score.
Excepting numbers ten and 11, the lowest individual score was 18 and the highest 58, as every batsman made a start then got out. In particular, Joe Denly (45), Matt Prior (37), Andrew Strauss (35) and Owais Shah (31) will all have been disappointed not to have kicked on.
Australia ran it close but it was a well-disciplined chase, and one that sent England to a 5-0 series deficit.
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