The man who made this victory possible was left arm seamer Allan Mullaly who had the excellent figures of 4 for 18 - his best against Australia.
When Australia batted they had to make 153 for victory in 36 overs and Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist sent them off to a flying start. But once Waugh (23) and Gilchrist (13) departed, the rest of the Australians lost their way.
Ricky Ponting (8), Greg Blewett (0) and Damien Martyn (0) failed miserably and if not for the lone hand played by left hander Michael Bevan who made 56 not out. Australia would have gone down tamely.
Brendon Julian made a valiant 23, but to no avail.
England who won the toss and batted ran into a gale in the form of Adam Dale who had the scalps of Alec Stewart (0) and Vince Wells for 10 and they were sliding at 29 for 2. They lost Graeme Hick caught behind off Flemming for 8 with the score on 42. TV replays showed that Hick had not got an edge.
Nick Knight and Neil Fairbrother made a recovery of sorts and took the score to 72 when Knight went for 30. England lost the wickets of Adam Holioake 5, Mark Alleyne 2 and Mark Ealham 14 cheaply and were tottering at 136 for 8 after losing Ealham at 122 and then Fairbrother.
With the closing of the England innings, a light drizzle began to fall and it was a frustrating wait where nearly an hours play was lost which necessitated the reducing of the overs, when Australia batted.
Knight and Fairbrother who made 30 and 47 batted with purpose. Knight had 3 fours in 57 balls and Fairbrother had 4 hits to the fence in 83 deliveries.
McGrath who failed to strike a line in his first spell came back strongly in the second to finish with 2 for 25. Dale also had 2 for 25 and Damien Fleming took 2 for 33.
Overnight rain and a drizzle in the morning slowed down the outfield and boundaries were not easy to get.
Tailenders Robert Croft (26) and Darren Gough (23) then hit out lustily to add 42 for the 9th wicket in 59 deliveries and take them to a somewhat respectable 178 for 8 in 50 overs.