The Commonwealth Bank Series, 2006-07

At Adelaide, January 26, 2007 (day/night). Australia won by nine wickets. Australia 5 pts. Toss: England.

England lost heavily at Adelaide again, after being shot out for 110: defeat arrived so quickly that the game was over before the sun set on what was supposed to be a floodlit Australia Day festival. After Ponting's half-century eased his side to victory with more than half the allotted overs remaining, Duncan Fletcher apologised for England's performance, while Flintoff admitted they were "far below par". England had been in decent health at 72 for two, but Bell's fall started the slide. There were a number of avoidable dismissals: Loye and Strauss offered simple catches behind, Bell and Joyce made mistakes from short balls, and the woefully out-of-form Collingwood chipped forlornly to mid-off. Lee, not noted for his economy, gave away only eight runs from as many overs, but the left-armer Johnson claimed the match award. His second spell included three wickets off edges as England lost their last five for seven runs. It is unlikely that any of their players could face the morning papers next day. In The Australian Andrew Ramsey called England the worst team to visit Australia in recent memory and added: "In the era of reality television, the time has surely come for England's cricketers to be voted off this island."

Man of the Match: M. G. Johnson. Attendance: 27,058.