Callum Taylor's half-century was not enough to prevent England Under-19s from falling to an eight-wicket defeat to their Australian counterparts at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School.
Having won the series opener on Monday, England opted to bat first today but lost wickets throughout before Australia knocked the runs off just two wickets down to level the five-match series at one apiece.
Captain Joe Weatherley fell in the first over of the innings, and things did not get any better as Aneurin Donald and Mosun Hussain both went for single-figure scores.
Haseeb Hameed made 10, but when he was caught behind in an excellent Jhye Richardson opening burst it left England 29 for four.
That brought Taylor to the crease and the all-rounder made patient progress despite losing partners at the other end.
Jared Warner hung around for 15 overs to offer some support, before Taylor eventually fell for a well-made 50, with Mason Crane the only other batsman to reach double figures, with an unbeaten 20.
England were finally dismissed for 109 in the 46th over, with Richardson and Henry Thornton taking three wickets apiece.
The total proved a comfortable chase for the hosts, but there were positives for England as the spin duo of Crane and Matt Parkinson applied some pressure to removed the openers, Jaron Morgan and Sam Heazlett, before the runs were knocked off.
After the game Head of the England Development Programme Andy Hurry said: “The boys are clearly extremely disappointed by today’s result after having come into the game with real confidence from Monday’s result.
“When you lose four wickets in the first 10 overs of a one-day match you are always in an extremely tough position. Callum Taylor offered some resilience with his fifty but could not find a partner other than 20 from Mason Crane.
“In reality, 110 was always going to be very difficult to defend but when Mason Crane and Matt Parkinson were bowling leg-spin in tandem, we were able to put the Aussies under pressure and managed to create some opportunities."
Weatherley admitted it had not been good enough, adding: “It was very disappointing. We lost a load of wickets up top and we never really recovered.
“It wasn't a good performance from the boys but we've reviewed the game, regrouped, the spirit of the team is still good and we go back to Perth tomorrow and very much looking forward to the third ODI on Saturday.
“There were still some positives to take from the game but it was a poor performance but it's still 1-1 and we're very much in this series.”