AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND

At Sydney, January 1 (day/night). Australia won by 68 runs. Toss: England. A New Year's Day crowd of 36,838 saw a performance by England's batsmen which Gooch sorrowfully rated the worst during his captaincy. In stark contrast, Australia illustrated the depth of their batting. Impetuous strokes against the spinners cost the wickets of Jones and Border, and when Steve Waugh was caught behind cutting, they were 93 for five in the 24th over. However, Mark Waugh, placing and weighting his strokes classily, and O'Donnell, driving with shattering force, added 112 in 23 overs, and England owed it to Fraser and Defreitas that the total was kept to 221. Gooch and Larkins gave England a good start with 61 off fifteen overs, but after a thunderous on-drive Gooch was caught in two minds and bowled by O'Donnell. After that the clever variations of Taylor's off-spin ruined England's chances, and the remaining wickets added only 88 in 30 overs.

Man of the Match: P. L. Taylor.