A steely final over from Ben Stokes ensured England claimed NatWest Twenty20 bragging rights over Australia at Cardiff.
England’s five-run victory would not have been possible without some wonderful ball-striking from captain Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali, who put on 135 in just 75 balls, but Stokes shone when the pressure was at its most intense.
Defending 182 for five, he was thrown the ball with 12 runs needed and conceded only half that number, making two run outs and taking a wicket as he held his nerve emphatically.
Australia finished in near disarray as they failed to match the Durham’s all-rounder’s coolness at the climax, closing on 177 for eight.
It would surely have been a different ending had skipper Steve Smith seen things through to the end but he departed in the penultimate over, David Willey enhancing his golden arm status with the big wicket. Smith finished with 90, the top score in a match that also saw freewheeling knocks of 74 from Morgan and 72no from Moeen.
An indeterminate start came to a swift end when Pat Cummins entered the fray, Alex Hales losing his off stump to a 93mph full toss and Jason Roy offering mid-off a simple catch.
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Moeen refused to allow Mitchell Marsh or debutant Marcus Stoinis to settle, reeling off a series of sweetly-hit boundaries.
Morgan joined in the fun in the 11th over, crashing Marsh out of the ground with a muscular straight hit.
Moeen was first to pass 50, in 31 balls, as he hammered Cameron Boyce for two sixes and a four, Boyce has clocked up a 20,000 mile round trip for this game and shipped 19 runs from his solitary over.
Morgan eventually fell attempting to strike eighth maximum, just a yard short as Nathan Coulter-Nile had him caught at long-on, and the England innings never quite regained momentum.
Willey stymied the Australian chase with the final ball of the opening over, David Warner caught at third man off a leading edge.
Fellow opener Watson departed close behind, bowled by Steven Finn having inexplicably failed to prevent a ricochet spinning back into his stumps.
England hold their nerve to win the Only T20I by just 5 runs http://t.co/nEwnm9MOQa #EngvAus pic.twitter.com/sDg7aN5aX7
— ICC (@ICC) August 31, 2015
Smith and Glenn Maxwell (44) launched the counter-attack, the latter sending three of his first seven balls to the ropes.
The mid-point of the chase saw Australia at 86 for two and Adil Rashid was unable to apply the brakes. His second and third overs cost a combined 27, including a six for each batsmen and the boundary that took Smith to 50.
Instead, it was Moeen’s off-spin that did the trick, though Maxwell’s departure had as much to do with Stokes’ superb running catch. That left Smith, fresh from heaving Finn into the stands, to see it through.
Australia needed 49 from five overs and 20 from two as Smith’s ruthless pursuit continued with deft touches and a fourth powerful six off Willey.
But the Northants man struck gold with nine balls remaining, Smith holing out to Sam Billings. Australia needed a gettable dozen but watched aghast as Stokes ran out Matthew Wade and Pat Cummins as well as having Nathan Coulter-Nile caught.
