England [ Images ] eased to a second successive victory in their five-match one-day series against Australia [ Images ] at the Oval on Sunday to record their eighth consecutive ODI win.
Chasing 252 to win on a friendly batting pitch, England reached their target with 26 balls to spare thanks to 82 run out from Ravi Bopara [ Images ] and a fluent 75 from Ian Bell [ Images ].
Australia scored 251 for seven with opener Shane Watson [ Images ] scoring a muscular 66 and George Bailey reaching 65.
Their total looked at least 30 short of a defendable one and Bell made the most of his opportunity at the top of the order since replacing the retired Kevin Pietersen [ Images ].
He was dropped on 38 but made no further mistakes before he was bowled missing an attempted cut off Australia captain Michael Clarke's [ Images ] first delivery.
Bopara, seeking to impress before the forthcoming test series against South Africa [ Images ], was untroubled before he ran himself out with only two runs required.
Eoin Morgan [ Images ] was there at the finish unbeaten on 43 after Clarke was awarded an lbw decision with his second ball to the England left-hander who had yet to score. Morgan immediately appealed and television replays showed he had got a faint inside edge.
England, the world's top-ranked test side, can overhaul Australia at the top of the one-day rankings if they complete a series whitewash.
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