England 355-6 (50 overs): Banton 121, Cox 67, Root 62
Australia 220 all out (44.3 overs): Green 64, Renshaw 63; Atkinson 4-28
Tom Banton scored a century and Sonny Baker and Gus Atkinson impressed with the ball as England's wildly inconsistent one-day team hammered Australia to set up a series decider.
Banton scored a fine 121 – pushing his case for selection further with a second ODI hundred – in England's 355-6.
After being knocked over for 131 two days ago in Perth, England's total was their highest in one-day internationals in Australia.
And then their bowlers, who failed to defend 430 against Sri Lanka last month and were undone by an improbable last-wicket partnership against Pakistan, reduced Australia to 29-4 inside seven overs and easily closed out a 135-run victory.
The win ends a seven-match losing run against Australia across formats in Adelaide - and a run of six consecutive defeats by Australia in 50-over cricket away from home.
But, more significantly, it corrects their course after those damaging defeats against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia and offers positives amid the frustrations going into the decider on Wednesday (03:30 GMT) in Hobart.
Will the real England please stand up? Before those defeats in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Perth, England had won three ODI series this year.
