Australia restrict England to 135
September 14 : Australia's bowlers bounced back from their humiliation against Zimbabwe on Wednesday night, restricting England to an uncomfortable total of 135 with a performance that was as disciplined and purposeful as their earlier efforts had been flaccid and complacent. None of England's batsmen, not even the pumped-up Kevin Pietersen, could get the measure of a focussed attack, and Andrew Flintoff finished as top-scorer with 31 from 18 balls. If Australia knock the runs off in 9.3 overs, it will be England who head home early.

Brett Lee, whose misdirected thunderbolts had contributed to Australia's downfall on Wednesday, set the new agenda with an excellent and fiery two-over new-ball burst. He had Darren Maddy dropped at backward point in the first over, a tough chance that fizzed through the fingertips, and was excellently backed up by his fellow seamers - Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson - all of whom mixed their pace well and went for no more than six runs per over.

On Wednesday, Australia's top three had struggled in damp and slow conditions. This time England's top three were confronted by a pitch with more bounce than had been on offer in the opening two matches, and were equally unable to assert themselves. Maddy, whose love of the cut shot has made him the highest score Englishman in Twenty20 history, missed out with several cross-batted swipes - and was even bowled off a free hit after Clark overstepped. He was looking flustered long before he chipped tamely to Mike Hussey at mid-off.

Matt Prior did connect sweetly with a carve for six over extra cover off Bracken, but he was the first to go when he swung loosely at Johnson and was caught at wide mid-on by Bracken. Luke Wright, who looked overawed by the occasion, failed to get his foot to the pitch of the ball in a wild six-ball stay which ended when he snicked a thin edge through to Gilchrist off Johnson.

At the end of the six-over fielding restrictions, England were stuck on an uneasy 35 for 1, and such was the Australian control that Ricky Ponting still had a slip in place as late as the tenth over - and that was despite an ominously focussed start from Pietersen, whose first ball from Johnson whistled through the covers for four.

But Pietersen's intent didn't translate into the runs that England so desperately needed. Paul Collingwood swiped a Lee free hit for a big six over midwicket and looked sparky during his 11-ball 18. But Lee pinned him lbw with a low full toss, before Bracken struck the crucial blow of the innings, as Pietersen made room for a swipe through the off side, and ended up yorking himself.

All eyes now turned to Flintoff, whose form with the bat has been so woeful of late. He lifted England's tempo briefly by cracking Andrew Symonds for consecutive sixes, but he fell after getting too cute with his footwork, and chipped an attempted loft over the slips straight to Clark at short third man.

The end of the innings came in an embarrassing clatter. Owais Shah holed out to deep midwicket for 14, Chris Schofield steered a sharp catch to a diving Gilchrist for 1 and when Stuart Broad's first delivery was deflected into the non-striker's stumps by Clark's outstretching fingers, the big-hitting Dimitri Mascarenhas was on his way for 4. Broad, with only James Kirtley for company, then missed with a big swing in the final over, and England's last five wickets had tumbled for eight runs.