By Glen Robertson
England struck three times early on to reduce Australia to 70 for three in Brisbane, as the hosts attempt to chase an Eoin Morgan-inspired 300 at the Gabba in the second one-day international.
Morgan, who was caught early on off a no ball, recorded a sixth ODI century, helping add 100 runs in the final 10 overs as the tourists made 300 for eight.
England then removed Aaron Finch, David Warner and Michael Clarke early on as they bid to level the series.
Finch departed without scoring when he picked out Gary Ballance at mid off, who atoned for dropping the same player at Sydney with a superb one-handed catch.
But he was outdone by Chris Jordan, who took a stunning one-handed effort of his own on his follow through to have Warner caught and bowled.
Ballance then took a second catch, this time off Joe Root, as Clarke departed for 17.
Bell had earlier made a half-century, while Jos Buttler enjoyed a hundred partnership with Morgan and made 49 as England set a challenging total.
Match Scorecard / Live ball-by-ball commentary
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Australia Innings
8:40am - Australia reach 80 for three as we stop for drinks. Bailey looks to be struggling, havign pulled up after completing a run. The physio was on during the break, but Bailey's continuing.
8:33am - REVIEW - Bresnan thinks he has Marsh lbw, but the ball pitched outside of leg and England use up their review.
8:29am - WICKET! Clarke c Ballance b Root 17; Aus 70/3 - Alastair Cook turns to Joe Root's spin and he delivers a big wicket in his first over. Clarke tries to loft him over cover-point, but Ballance safely takes his second catch of the innings. George Bailey, the new man at the crease, is instantly up and running.
8:21am - Ian Bell misses the chance to remove Marsh. The Australian hesitated but was called through by Clarke, and had Bell hit the stumps from point then Marsh would have been on his way.
8:15am - Marsh picks up a couple of boundaries from Ben Stokes' first over and Australia are 57 for two at the end of the powerplay.
8:08am - Michael Clarke looks in the mood, picking up a couple of early boundaries off Jordan, as Australia continue to score quickly. Tim Bresnan is brought into the attack.
Chris Jordan u little beauty! He has as good a pair of hands as anyone I've played with that wasn't a fluke! #buckets
— Matt Prior (@MattPrior13) January 17, 2014
7:58am - WICKET! Warner c&b Jordan 19; Aus 32/2 - What a catch! Jordan takes a worldie to get rid of Warner. The batsman tries crunching a shot straight down the ground, but Jordan thrusts out a hand and somehow clings on one-handed. Superb reflexes from the young bowler. Australia's opening two have departed early on to a pair of brilliant one-handed catches.
7:54am - Australia are making steady progress after the early wicket. Rankin is punished for straying wide to Shaun Marsh and short to Warner, with both men hitting fours. Australia are 31-1 after five overs.
Warner cracks Jordan hard through mid-off for four.18/1. #AusvEng
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
7:40am - WICKET! Finch c Ballance b Jordan 0; Aus 6/1 - Superb start for England as the dangerous Finch is out without scoring. The powerful opener drove Chris Jordan straight to mid off, where Gary Ballance - who dropped the same batsman at a massive cost in Sydney - nonchalantly clings on to a one-handed catch. It was a very similar shot and catch to the one Ballance dropped in the opening match. It appears his mistake was going with two hands at the SCG.
7:34am - Aaron Finch and David Warner stride out to the middle. Boyd Rankin opens the bowling for England. Breaking this partnership early could be the key to victory.
England Innings
7:28am - England's total has been revised to 300. Earlier on, Australia fielder Shaun Marsh had appeared to have saved a six with a clever piece of fielding, flicking the ball bakc in play from ove rthe boundary, but on close rinspection his back foot had crossed the boundary before he jumped. So England made 300 and Buttler 49.
7am - END OF INNINGS England 296/8 - A brilliant last over from Faulkner concedes just three runs, as Chris Jordan struggled to get bat on ball. England would have taken this in the 40th over, though.
6:58am - WICKET! c Clarke b Faulkner 106; Eng 293/8 - Morgan fails to clear mid off and is dismissed for a simply brilliant 106. England have some work to do to reach 300 now.
6:55am - WICKET! Stokes c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile 0; Eng 292/7 - Ben Stokes is out first ball as he hooks straight to Maxwell at deep midwicket. England are 293 for seven with one over left. Morgan is on strike.
6:53am - WICKET! Buttler c Clarke b Coulter-Nile 45; Eng 291/6 - Clarke makes no mistake as he takes a running catch at mid on when Buttler got a big top edge to a Coulter-Nile delivery. That was 45 vital runs from the wicketkeeper, though
6:47am - CENTURY PARTNERSHIP! - Superb work from Morgan and Buttler, as they take England within touching distance of 300. Johnson concedes 12 from his final over as he finishes with 1-55. Two overs left for England to pile on further runs.
6:42am - HUNDRED! Morgan (94b 4x4 6x6) - Morgan completes an outstanding century with a superb clip over the wicketkeeper for four. He has turned this contest around brilliantly in these past seven overs.
6:34am - DROPPED CATCH! A horrendous drop from Coulter-Nile off his own bowling. Buttler skies one straight up in the air, the bowler was right underneath it and inexplicably shells the chance. Morgan punishes him with a huge six to bring up England's 250. Morgan follows that up by hitting two more sixes off the next two deliveries he faces, as Faulkner concedes 18 from one over.
Huge six again from @Eoin16 - it hits a bloke dressed in st.george's flag cardboard boxes. #noidea #AusvEng
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
6:23am - Buttler ends the wait for a boundary with a four off Johnson, then Morgan takes it a step further by clubbing the paceman over long on for a sensational six.
6:16am - England pass 200 as they take six runs from a Johnson over, but boundaries are proving hard to come by.
6:08am - FIFTY! Morgan (70b 2x4 1x6) Morgan records a second successive fifty in this series. Very little acknowledgement from the batsman. He knows he has a vital role to play in these final 10 overs.
5:57am - WICKET! Bopara c Bailey b Faulkner 24; 178/5 - Two balls after hitting a six, Bopara departs as he can only pick out George Bailey at midwicket. Jos Buttler replaces him in the middle. England could do with a big innings from the wicketkeeper, here.
5:49am - England have taken the batting powerplay at the start of the 36th over and Bopara immediately pulls to the square leg boundary. Eight runs come from the over and Morgan is the same number short of a fifty - which would be his fifth in his last seven ODI innings.
5:42am - Three singles off Faulkner take England to 157 for four as the players stop for some refreshment at the end of the 34th over. Morgan and Bopare will be looking to accelerate soon.
5:33am - Ravi Bopara finds the boundary from the first ball he faces, then Morgan brings up England's 150 when he pulls Johnson to deep square-leg for two.
5:20am - WICKET! Bell run out (Clarke) 68; Eng 139/4 - Disaster for England as Clarke strikes with a direct hit from point. Bell, who was in great nick, had set off for a risky single, but was sent back by Morgan and came up a couple of inches short.
In crowd news, Batman has just wrestled a smurf. It was the Adam West version though, so honours were even. #AusvEng
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
5:11am - Morgan and Bell reach their fifty-partnership, though the latter was almost dismissed when Faulkner deflected a Morgan drive towards the non-striker's stumps with Bell way out of his crease but, fortunately for England, the ball narrowly missed. Johnson returns to the attack.
5:07am - Morgan hits the game's first maximum, slapping a full one from McKay straight down the ground with the ball just clearing the long on boundary. James Faulkner is on to replace Maxwell, who got through eight overs and took 2-31.
5:01am - Bell and Morgan rotate the strike nicely with singles before Bell finally finds the boundary, although somewhat unconventionally. An attempted hook finds a top edge, but he gets enough height on it to clear the wicketkeeper and find the rope. At the halfway stage England are 116 for
three.
4:51am - FIFTY! Bell (63b 3x4 0x6) - Bell brings up a 28th ODI fifty with a prod to the off side. He will be looking to go on from here as England aim to post a competitive total.
4:42am - Morgan is caught at deep midwicket off Clarke but Australia had only four men in the circle, so it was called a no ball. It was Morgan who brought it to the umpire's attention, so you presume he knew he basically had a free-hit which is why he took on the big shot. Some nice quick-thinking from the batsman, there. England remain three down, with 87 on the board.
4:37am - WICKET! Ballance st Haddin b Maxwell 9; Eng 78/3 - Ballance was tempted down the wicket but he was beaten by Maxwell's spin and Haddin, after juggling with the ball for a second or two, manages to complete the stumping and leave England three down. The in-form Eoin Morgan makes his way to the middle.
4:27am - Johnson is straight back out of the attack after the wicket, as Clarke looks to keep his bowlers fresh. Clarke takes the ball himself, and Bell almost plays onto his stumps first ball, but he and Ballance manage to get the scoreboard ticking once again by taking six from the over.
4:18am - WICKET! Root lbw Johnson 2; Eng 60/2 - Johnson has Root trapped lbw, with a review showing the ball would have just clipped the top of middle and leg. The Yorkshire batsman was struck high on his thigh - hence the review - but is sent packing by Johnson. Root's county team-mate Gary Ballance is out as England attempt to steady their innings after a quick double blow.
4:10am - WICKET! Cook c&b Maxwell 22; Eng 57/1 - Michael Clarke's decision to turn to spin pays instant dividends, as Cook attempts a drive but can only send one straight back to Glenn Maxwell, who takes a low catch to end England's highest opening partnership in a ODI at the Gabba. Joe Root is the next man at the crease and shows some early intent.
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
3:58am - McKay bowls short and down the leg side and sees the ball smashed to the fine-leg boundary by Cook, who passes 2,000 runs as a captain in one-day internationals. Bell then just clears mid off as he attempts to send Coulter-Nile over the top.
3:51am - It's an impressive start from Bell and Cook. They add 12 more off a single Coulter-Nile over, trading threes before Bell finds the boundary with a clip through mid-on and adds two more with an edge to the vacant third slip position.
3:42am - Nathan Coulter-Nile is brought into the attack early on as Cook and Bell continue to keep things ticking along. Bell then takes on Johnson, lifting him over the covers to record his first four of the contest. Six overs in and England are 24 without loss.
Classic Cook...clips Johnson off his legs for the first boundary of the match. 14/0. #AusvEng
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
3:31am - Johnson gets some swing and beats Cook's outside edge, but the skipper recovers well to pick up a couple through the covers. Australia half-heartedly appeal for a catch as Ian Bell chases McKay down the leg side, but there was no contact between bat and ball.
3:23am - Cook is immediately off the mark with a cut down to third man, as McKay struggles to get his radar working. Five runs - two of them wides - get England off and running. Mitchell Johnson, sans moustache, is on at the other end.
Pre-Play News
3:18am - Here we go. Clint McKay will open the bowling, with Alastair Cook facing. Can England break their duck this winter?
So England will get first use of the Gabba surface. Could be some pace in it! #AusvEng pic.twitter.com/8Mj3F2ZhAx
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
2:53am - ENGLAND WIN THE TOSS AND WILL BAT - Alastair Cook calls correctly and choses to post a total first. England have named an unchanged side, so Cook and Ian Bell will be opening the batting when the game gets underway in a little over half an hour.
Australia have made two changes from the side that won in Sydney. Mitchell Johnson returns to the fold following his rest, while Shaun Marsh is also selected. Shane Watson and Xavier Doherty make way.
Australia: Michael Clarke (c), Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint McKay.
England: Alastair Cook (c), Ian Bell, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan, Boyd Rankin.
2:40am - We'll have news of the toss and bring you the teams in 10 minutes. In the meantime, read Gary ballance's thoughts on today's game, next year's World Cup and facing Mitchell Johnson.
Good to see @Eoin16 melting them in the warm-ups...he looked in great touch in first ODI #AusvEng pic.twitter.com/h2ZgjHox71
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 17, 2014
2:35am - Good morning and welcome to ecb.co.uk's coverage of the second one-day international between Australia and England. The action today comes from Brisbane, as England look to record victory over the Aussies for the first time this winter.