Scorecard

England failed to last their 50 overs for the second time in a row and were bowled out by Australia for 169 runs in the Group A Champions Trophy match at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.

Apart from being a battle for survival for both teams in the series, it is the first time the two teams are meeting since the epic Ashes series last August.

England just could not match Australia's intensity on the field. After showing early promise, their batting collapsed without a whimper. The team is on the brink of being knocked out of the premier tournament, this despite openers Ian bell (43) and Andrew Strauss (56) giving the team a solid start of 83 runs after being put into bat by Australia.

Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson used the old ball intelligently to grab three wickets each and run through the English top order.

England innings:

England's opening batsmen, who had played some loose shots as the team was dismissed for 125 by India in their opening match, looked more organized. They ran the risk of playing ugly to ensure Australia did not make early inroads.

Ian Bell began the boundary count by flicking Nathan Bracken to the mid-wicket fence in the fourth over. The right-handed batsman, who has done well in Indian conditions, played a fluent innings to give England a solid start along with Andrew Strauss.

He was dropped by Damien Martyn on 23 at mid-off; the ball popping out of Martyn's hands after Bell had mis-hit the slower delivery from Glenn McGrath.

McGrath, earlier, had an unusual start as he was spanked for two fours by Strauss off his first two balls. The batsman was then checked for any airy shots square of the wicket by a short mid-wicket and point.

But when Australia's main-line bowlers failed to provide the breakthrough, their second string came out in full force against the traditional rivals.

Shane Watson, who has previously taken the new ball, was introduced in the 19th over; the all-rounder struck with his second ball. He hit the deck hard, got good bounce and bowled onto the stumps to expose England's batting frailties.

The paceman had Bell caught on 43 at cover to Mike Hussey while driving on the rise.

The first wicket apparently was enough to put England on the slide. Kevin Pietersen, promoted up the order, went for another expansive drive, played away from the body and got an edge off Mitchell Johnson to the wicketkeeper.

On the eve of the match, Australia captain Ricky Ponting had said the team was looking to improve its record in the Champions Trophy. Having lost their first match against the West Indies on Wednesday, Australia looked keener to set the record straight against England. They were energized in the field, constantly back-slapping and chatting with each other.

After a brief partnership of 26 runs with Strauss, Flintoff was caught at mid-wicket while trying to pull Watson. The English captain, who has already ruled out bowling during the tournament as he is recovering from an injury, failed to make an impact with the bat either.

England's capitulation from there on was meek. They lost eight wickets for 59 runs and were bowled out for 169.

Strauss, after compiling a half-century, was caught by Gilchirst trying to cut Andrew Symonds. Michael Yardy, with his open stance, looked edgy right from the beginning and was caught behind of Watson trying to glance the ball to fine-leg.

Bursting on the cricket scene with a four-wicket haul against India in Kuala Lumpur, Johnson bowled well with the old ball, getting it to jump and swing. He was rewarded with three wickets for 40 runs in his 10 overs.

McGrath toyed with the English tail, beating the bat with embarrassing ease. He chipped in with two wickets in the end, having wicket-keeper Chris Read caught behind for no score and cleaning up James Anderson to bring an end to another batting disaster from England.

Paul Collingwood held his end up through the madness to remain unbeaten for 22.