England were unable to mark a record-breaking day for Ian Bell with victory as they succumbed to the white-hot blade of Steven Smith in Hobart.
After Bell celebrated becoming England’s highest-ever one-day international run-scorer with a career-best 141, stand-in skipper Smith anchored Australia’s successful pursuit of 303 for eight.
The 25-year-old needed only useful contributions around him as he coolly reached a century, from 92 balls, to steer his side home withthree wickets and a ball to spare.
England were therefore made to pay for not fully cashing in on the blazing start offered by Bell, who combined in century stands with opening partner Moeen Aliand Joe Root.
Eoin Morgan’s side managed only 59 for six from the final 10 overs, and lost three wickets from the final three balls of the innings.
It was a disappointing end after Bell went past Paul Collingwood to become England’s highest-ever ODI run-scorer and moments later reached his fourth ton in the 50-over format.
Victory confirmed Australia's place in the Tri-Series final, to be staged at the WACA Ground on February 1, with England and India now left to fight it out for the right to meet them.
England battled until the end, though, and forced the game almost to the final ball after Brad Haddin's 42 from 29 balls had seemingly prevented a close end.
Australia needed just two from the final over from Chris Woakes, but Moises Henriques failed to score off the first two deliveries and was then run-out by a James Taylor direct-hit.
Smith, however, clipped the next ball for a single before Mitchell Starc belatedly completed the job.
Smith has enjoyed a winter plump full of runs and after he hit a century on debut as Test captain against India last month he repeated the feat in the 50-over format after being handed the job following George Bailey's ban for a slow over-rate.
His day had begun by winning the toss, although it appeared he had made a miscalculation when he sent England in to bat and they got off to a rocking start.
Bell and Moeen put on 113 in quick time with the latter at one point crashing Pat Cummins for a hat-trick of sixes.
Bell had, however, been the more effective batsman early, reaching his fifty from 42 balls, before Moeen departed for 46 when skying a heave at James Faulkner.
Another century stand with Root followed, the Yorkshireman hitting a run-a-ball 69, as England appeared capable of as much as 350.
But after Bell finally fell, following a typically classy innings that included 15 fours and a six, skipper Morgan nicked behind his first ball and then Root also departed to slow the innings.
Australia's ability to find reverse swing was key to that, especially Starc, as his final three overs cost 11 including just two from the final over - England's equal worst of the innings.
Australia then set off at pace via openers Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh, but a Steven Finn double-strike in the same over gave England control.
Marsh squeezed to gully, to offer Bell one of his three catches, before Finn found reverse swing to catch Cameron White plumb in front.
Moeen then claimed his second wicket when Glenn Maxwell picked out Root on the boundary, but that only prompted Smith to take charge of matters.
He played risk-free cricket alongside Faulkner to steadily reduce the rate to a manageable level in the final overs.
That allowed Haddin to then open his shoulders and take the game away before the stand-in skipper deservedly reached his match-winning century.
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Post-match reaction
Eoin Morgan praised Ian Bell for his 141, which made him England’s top one-day international run-scorer, although the tourists’ 303 for eight was not the total it might have been after a flurry of late wickets.
“Ian Bell played a magnificent role up the order again, showing his class and experience, but I think ultimately the last 10 overs let us down a little bit,” he said. “Credit to Australia, they bowled really well and took advantage of the reverse-swing that was available.”
Mitchell Starc particularly shone at the death, capitalising on reverse-swing.
“I think today was their day, the last 10 overs especially,” Morgan added.
“Looking at what the guys were facing towards the end was extremely difficult to set up to and their variations were pretty good.
“We got the ball reverse-swinging but not for long enough period of time which hurt us as well.”
Morgan continued: “I think 300 was about par. If they hadn’t bowled well at the end we might have got up to maybe 350 or 340, which would have been a match-winning score, but credit to Australia. They fought right through and played better cricket than us in the end.”
Australia stand-in skipper Steven Smith was man of the match for his 102 not out, his sixth international ton of the winter.
“It’s nice to get a few runs again tonight and get the boys over the line,” he said.
“I thought we timed our chase pretty well there at the end. A lot of credit has to go to our bowlers, the way we clawed it back in the last 20 overs to restrict them to 300 after probably staring down the barrel of around 350.”
Australia innings
11.13am - AUSTRALIA WIN BY THREE WICKETS - Aus 304/7 (Smith 102, Starc 1) - Australia get home, eventually, with a ball to spare to book their place in the February 1 final in Perth. That is just the third time Australia have chased down over 300 on home soil. Unfortunately, all three occasions have come against England in the past four years.
11.12am - Smith gets a single. Mitchell Starc has two balls to win this for Australia. Woakes has to be full and straight.
11.10am - WICKET! Henriques run out (Taylor) 4; Aus 302/7 - Is there life left in this? Henriques fails to get away the first two balls and is then run out...Australia beat Pakistan in November in a similar position.
11.08am - Australia need two from the final over. Woakes to bowl it.
11.01am - WICKET! Haddin c Bell b Woakes 42; Aus 297/6 - Haddin is fooled by a Woakes slower ball, but the damage has been done. His 42 came from 29 balls. Australia need seven from 16 balls.
10.59am - CENTURY! Smith (93b 6x4 1x6) - After making a century on his Test debut as skipper last month, Smith has done it again in the 50-over format. It has been a winter plump full of runs for the right-hander and this latest knock will ensure Australia qualify for the final of the Tri-Series.
10.56am - Smith launches Anderson deep into the stands. He's on 96. England's hopes are almost gone.
10.55am - Haddin flicks Broad away to the square-leg rope as Australia take 11 from the over. They need 21 from 24 balls.
5 overs left. Aus 272-5. Require 32 more runs from 30 balls C’mon England! #AUSvENG#triseries
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
10.46am - Haddin plonks Finn back over his head for six and that brings up the 50-run partnership from 43 balls. Another four follows from the keeper. Haddin is making his move.
10.42am - A bit of comedy on the boundary from a fan to cut the tension for a moment. A big bloke has leant over the fence to pick up the ball after a second Haddin boundary in the over only to fall flat on his face. He raced back to his seat and almost took another tumble. Taxi.
10.40am - Smith is the key wicket, but England now have to be wary of Haddin as he starts to open his shoulders with his skipper primarily looking to bat through. He guides Broad to the third-man rope to start the 44th over.
10.31am - The tension is rising in Hobart with Australia needing 65 runs from 54 balls. Smith remains the key wicket. He's unbeaten on 83 after cutting Broad to the rope.
In Hobart, it's all set up for a thriller as Australia need 65 from 54 balls http://t.co/odPhHW5Yoc#AusvEngpic.twitter.com/sMocO1oM4V
— ICC (@ICC) January 23, 2015
10.10am - WICKET! Faulkner c Bell b Woakes 35; Aus 216/5 - Woakes makes the much-needed breakthrough. He gets a ball to hold up just enough on Faulkner who squirts the ball to Bell at gully. The centurion dives forward to hold a ball that was dying on him. Australia's 'finisher' departs.
10.07am - Smith and Faulkner bring up their 50-run stand from 59 balls. They have taken almost no risk as they reduce the ask to a manageable rate in the final overs. It is considered stuff from the hosts and has forced England to push for wickets.
9.55am - Australia have taken the powerplay with the score 197 for four after 34 overs. Anderson is thrown the ball.
9.48am - FIFTY! Smith (51b 3x4 0x6) - Just another half-century for Smith this winter. It hasn't been flashy from the stand-in captain, but he's cut out the risk to try and steer his side home. Needless to say, England need him out.
The view from our position at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart #AusvEng#triseries#CWC15pic.twitter.com/2vKJYsbEAn
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
9.36am - CHANCE! - England have tightened the rate further since Maxwell's exit. That creates a bit of panic as James Faulkner sets off for a single that wasn't there and would have been caught out if James Taylor's throw hit the stumps. Australia need 133 from the final 20 overs.
9.25am - WICKET! Maxwell c Root b Moeen 37; Aus 161/4 - England get a vital breakthrough. Morgan played on the ego of Maxwell by bringing Moeen back and he couldn't help himself but take a swipe at the spinner. He picks out Joe Root who had steadied himself perfectly to take the chance without falling back over the rope.
9.19am - Morgan is shuffling his bowlers with Moeen brought back into the attack and his over costs five runs. It is a game of cat and mouse at the moment. Will the ball get harder to hit in the later overs like it did for England?
9.11am - Finn follows up with an over that costs just one. He is having a splendid tour Down Under after the troubles of 12 months ago. Woakes is now back into the attack. A key period this as Smith and Maxwell start to settle in. Their stand is worth 50 off 42 balls.
9.05am - Australia start to find a way to score against Moeen, taking 19 from his last two overs, so Morgan turns to the medium pace of Ravi Bopara. Maxwell strikes two boundaries though as 11 is taken from his first over.
8.49am - CHANCE! - Almost a third wicket in the over for Finn. Maxwell flicks off his pads and Anderson almost holds onto a spectacular one-handed catch diving to his right at short midwicket.
8.45am - WICKET! White lbw Finn 0; Aus 92/3 - White's long-awiated return lasts just two balls as Finn does for him with some late reverse-swing into his front pad. No mistaking the decision. England right on top and, with the chance of a bonus-point win, could book their place in the final today....let's not get carried away just yet.
8.42am - WICKET! Marsh c Bell b Finn 45; Aus 92/2 - Marsh slices a drive to Ian Bell at backward point off Finn. It is a simple catch and reward for England slowing the scoring rate. Cameron White is next man in for his first bat in an ODI for almost four years.
8.40am - Moeen has been very tidy since coming into the attack. He's allowed only 10 runs from his three overs, plus that Finch wicket, to slow Australia down. The hosts only got three expensive overs of spin out of Glenn Maxwell. That could be crucial.
8.24am - WICKET! Finch b Moeen 32; Aus 76/1 - Eoin Morgan brings Moeen Ali into the attack and he takes four balls to strike. Finch wanted a big piece of the spinner, but got none and is bowled. A big wicket.
8.15am - Australia are 67 without loss after 10 overs. As a point of note Australia have only ever chased down a score of 300 twice on home soil. Unfortunately both of those occasions have come against England - in Sydney in 2011 and last year in Brisbane.
8.08am - So close. Finch whips Broad just short of Steven Finn at short fine-leg.
Congrats to @jimmy9 on going past me to become England's most capped player of all time - one of Eng's greatest ever pic.twitter.com/T0GBJPWIQn
— Alec Stewart (@StewieCricket) January 23, 2015
8.02am - Stuart Broad replaces Woakes and after a tidy first five balls he slides onto Finch's pads and pays the price with a boundary.
7.55am - James Anderson moves around the wicket to Marsh. There are close fielders at cover and midwicket - and no slip - which suggest England think this pitch can hold up a fraction. Australia take three from the over so England will be happy to stem that early flow.
Strong start from Finch and Marsh - Australia are 32/0 from 4 overs chasing 304. Live now on SS2
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 23, 2015
7.45am - Shaun Marsh cracks Woakes for three successive fours. After a couple of glorious on-drives he whacks Woakes through the covers. Marsh made a century when these two teams last played in Hobart.
7.37am - Aaron Finch takes Chris Woakes for a boundary from the first ball of the innings, but the Warickshire man allows only a further leg-bye to kick us off.
England innings
7.30am - So there will be some disappointment that England did not push on for a score far greater than 300, but a much-changed Australia batting line-up still has plenty of work to do. A bonus-point win for England will confirm their place in the February 1 final in Perth. Australia just need to win to ensure they go through.
England set Australia a target of 304 runs to win in Hobart. What are your thoughts on our total? #AusvEng#triseriespic.twitter.com/u9zyYrZXDX
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
6.57am - WICKET & END OF INNINGS! Woakes run out (Haddin) 0; Eng 303/8; Broad 0 - A carbon copy of the previous ball as England lose three wickets from the last three balls of the innings. Starc's final over costs just two as England really stuttered at the end. It's still a good score but they looked set for much more. They scored 27 from the last five overs with just a single boundary.
6.56am - WICKET! Buttler run out (Haddin) 25; Eng 303/7 - Buttler tries to steal a single to the keeper, after Chris Woakes plays and misses, only for Haddin to hit the stumps.
6.54am - WICKET! Bopara b Starc 7; Eng 303/6 - Bopara steps across and shows Starc his stumps and the Australia left-armer finds them with a full-toss that crashed into leg. Bopara departs after managing seven from 16 balls.
6.51am - Buttler smackes Faulkner back down the ground for the first boundary in 30 balls, which also brings up the 300 with an over to go.
6.47am - Still no boundary in that over from Starc although England manage to take seven runs from it. The older ball, coupled with the bowlers taking pace off, is proving very difficult to get away.
6.43am - England have gone three overs without a boundary as Starc and Faulkner have applied the clamps. Three overs to go and the score is still a healthy 285 for five.
6.38am - Bopara can take just two from the 46th over, delivered by Starc. That was the lowest amount of runs England have taken from an over in the innings.
WICKET Root's important knock of 69 from 70 balls is over as Cummins picks up his wicket. #Eng 275-5 in 45th over #AusvEng#triseries
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
6.31am - WICKET! Root c Finch b Cummins 69; Eng 275/5 - Root slaps a Cummins slower ball straight to Finch at mid-on. A few wickets in these late overs is slowing England down a bit. Ravi Bopara is the new man.
6.25am - Root gets down on one knee and scoops Cummins over the short fine-leg fieldsman for four. A fine shot. He then fashions a reverse-ramp off Sandhu as 11 comes from the next over. England are 271 for four with six overs left.
6.17am - WICKET! Morgan c Haddin b Sandhu 0; Eng 254/4 - The skipper nicks his first ball behind and Sandhu has two wickets in the over. Disappointment for Eoin Morgan but there is plenty of batting left to make sure this late assault still occurs.
6.14am - WICKET! Bell c Starc b Sandhu 141; Eng 253/3 - Bell finally departs for his highest ODI score and on the day he became England's highest 50-over run-scorer. He made room for himself only to miscue a slapped effort that Starc ran back from mid-off to hold on to.
6.09am - Bell begins the final 10 overs by pulling Cummins into the stands. A bloke in the crowd has dropped his beers trying to take the catch and then spilled the ball too. Nightmare!
6.02am - FIFTY! Root (56b 4x4 0x6) - A steady fifty for Root as he has been content to build on the flying start Bell and Moeen have provided. The last 10 overs are soon to be upon us and the fireworks are expected to follow.
6am - CENTURY PARTNERSHIP! - Root and Bell bring up the second century stand of the innings. It has been a super effort so far.
5.55am - England take 36 from the powerplay - a nice steady return - without the loss of a wicket. A score well over 300 is in their sights now, while Root is closing on a fifty.
5.51am - An over left to go in the powerplay and England have taken 28 runs from it so far. They've hit three fours in the powerplay so far, and none in the past two overs, as they prime themselves for a late assault.
5.44am - Interestingly, Australia's out-and-out quicks (Starc and Cummins) have both gone at over seven runs an over whereas the likes of Sandhu, Faulkner and Henriques have all operated at a reasonable five runs or less. That might be a good sign for an England attack that does not rely on pace quite as much.
5.39am - Root takes a couple of boundaries off Starc when he returns to the attack and England have reached 200 in the 34th over.
5.31am - England have taken the batting powerplay with the score 183 for two after 32 overs.
This is @Ian_Bell's fourth ODI ton and England are building a big total in Hobart: http://t.co/rHTMLThBqj#AUSvENGpic.twitter.com/owDRFnku9u
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 23, 2015
5.22am - CENTURY! Bell (92b 11x4 0x6) - Bell brings up his fourth ODI century almost two years to the day since his last against India in Dharamsala. It has been an innings to remember so far from the stylish right-hander, as he has also gone past Collingwood's England run-scoring record. All of his ODI centuries have come at the top of the order.
And @Ian_Bell is now England's leading ODI run scorer! A single into the off-side brings up the milestone, and he passes @Colly622 (5092)
— BBC TMS (@bbctms) January 23, 2015
5.11am - Bell edges closer to a century thanks to a comedy moment in the outfield. After a good stop on the rope Aaron Finch failed to pick up the ball as it was patted back to him and the batsmen get through for a third run.
5.06am - A slight break in play while the physio is on to tend to Joe Root. He is sticking a plaster on the Yorkshireman's neck at the moment. I'm not quite sure what has prompted the need for that.
4.59am - Bell coasts into the nineties as he tickles a leg-side delivery from Henriques, who lets out a cry of frustration, to the rope for four. England are 150 for two after 25 overs.
4.54am - CHANCE! - Bell gets a life on 80 as Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin puts down a tough chance. Bell gets a thick edge as he tries to run Faulkner away and while Haddin makes good ground he fails to hold on at full stretch.
4.48am - WICKET! Taylor c Faulkner b Henriques 5; Eng 132/2 - Taylor never settled before pushing a soft catch to Faulkner at mid-on. He took 14 balls for his five singles.
4.45am - Bell lofts Faulkner over mid-on for a boundary to ensure he keeps ticking over nicely. A score of over 300 appears on the cards...
4.39am - New man James Taylor gets off the mark with his eighth ball, angling Faulkner away to third man.
4.28am - WICKET! Moeen c sub (Doherty) b Faulkner 46; Eng 113/1 - Moeen walks down the wicket at Faulkner and is cramped up as tries to swing from the hip. Xavier Doherty camps under the skier at cover and an excellent opening partnerhsip is broken.
4.19am - CENTURY PARTNERSHIP! - Bell lofts Faulkner over cover for a couple of runs that brings up the 100-run stand after 15.1 overs. It is a glorious start after Australia's stand-in skipper Steven Smith sent England in to bat.
4.10am - FIFTY! Bell (42b 8x4 0x6) - A second successive half-century for Bell as he pushes James Faulkner down the ground for a single. He'll want more now and has Paul Collingwood's England record 5,092 ODI runs in sight.
4.03am - After his initial barrage Bell is settling in now for the long haul. He shows his deft touch by reverse-sweeping Glenn Maxwell for a boundary following the introduction of spin.
3.53am -Cop that. Moeen smacks three sixes in a row! He had looked out of sorts, not now. All three maximums fly over the leg-side rope, the second the best of them as he quickly spotted a fast Cummins bouncer and hooked it on to the grassed bank. The third six was actually caught on the rope by Shaun Marsh but his momentum took him over the boundary.
3.50am - While Bell is flourishing his opening partner Moeen is struggling for touch. He has played and missed at Sandhu a few times before trying to force a cover-drive that pops just wide of gully. Moeen has 10 from 20 balls.
3.40am - England have forced an early bowling chance with Gurinder Sandhu brought on with the score 34 for none after five overs.
3.38am - Bell is in sublime touch. He crunches another couple of boundaries off Pat Cummins, before smacking Starc through cover, and England are off to a bit of a flyer. Bell has 26 from 16 balls.
3.31am - Three fours in that Starc over. Bell follows his first boundary with a perfect cover-drive along the carpet. The opener ends the over with a streaky nick through the recently-vacated second slip area. They all count the same.
Ian Bell reaches 5000 ODI runs with a drive through the covers off the bowling off Starc. He's 6*, and England are 11-0 #AUSvENG
— BBC TMS (@bbctms) January 23, 2015
3.26am - Ian Bell gets off the mark with a false stroke - a bunted cross-bat shot to cover - which hints at some slowness in the wicket. He then square-drives the first ball of the next over from Starc to the rope.
3.22am - No wicket(s) in the first over for Mitchell Starc today. Moeen Ali sees him off and adds a well-timed clip to the midwicket boundary in for good measure.
Pre-play news
Congrats @jimmy9 who becomes the most-capped England player in all formats (304 games), surpassing @StewieCricketpic.twitter.com/8CN9VuEFUh
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
3.10am - Australia have brought in three players from outside their World Cup squad to supplement their batting line-up. Cameron White returns to ODI cricket for the first time in almost four years, while Shaun Marsh and Moises Henriques come in. Marsh hit a century the last time these two teams met in Hobart.
3.05am - There are a couple of milestone amongst the England ranks, most significantly James Anderson who becomes the most-capped England player in all formats. He surpasses Alec Stewart for that honour as he prepares for his 304th game for his country. Steven Finn will play his 50th one-day international.
Australia XI: Marsh, Finch, Smith (c), White, Maxwell, Haddin, Faulkner, Henriques, Cummins, Starc, Sandhu: http://t.co/rHTMLThBqj#AUSvENG
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 23, 2015
2.50am - TOSS! Australia have won the toss and elected to bowl. Steven Smith, who is taking over Australia's one-day captaincy for the first time, predicts there will be a little bit in the wicket early on.
England team to play Australia #triseries: Ali, Bell, Taylor, Root, Morgan (C), Bopara, Buttler, Woakes, Broad, Anderson, Finn #AusvEng
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015
2.46am - The Aussies will be missing a number of key batsmen with David Warner - who hit a century as England lost in Sydney to start the Tri-Series - George Bailey and Shane Watson out while skipper Michael Clarke remains sidelined by the hamstring injury that has left his World Cup place in some jeopardy. That said, England will not be too concerned who Australia put out on the park as they look to continue to ramp up their preparations for the World Cup.
2.45am - Welcome to our live blog as England attempt to put one foot in the Tri-Series final. Victory against an injury-depleted Australia in Hobart would leave England in a very strong position to qualify for the final, to be held in Perth, following their thumping bonus-point win over India last time out in Brisbane.
Bright blue skies and sunshine at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart. Both teams warming-up #EngvAus#triseries#CWC15pic.twitter.com/ksGwrBkj5G
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 23, 2015