Johnson stars as Australia win second ODI

London:

Mitchell Johnson starred with both bat and ball as Australia beat England by 39 runs in the second One-Day International at Lord's on Sunday.

Victory, achieved with 23 balls to spare, saw world champions Australia go 2-0 up in the seven-match series.

England, chasing 250 for victory, were well-placed at 74 without loss. But a rapid collapse saw them lose four wickets for 23 runs in 33 balls as they slumped to 97 for four.

Despite the best efforts of Paul Collingwood, last man out for 56, they were unable to retrieve the situation and were dismissed for 210.

Earlier, man-of-the-match Johnson's rapid 43 not out helped boost Australia's total to 249 for eight. He faced just 23 balls, including five fours before taking two wickets for 50 runs.

Together with Nathan Hauritz, he shared an unbroken stand of 41 after Australia were in danger of being bowled out inside their alloted 50 overs.

Callum Ferguson top-scored with 55, his second successive fifty after his man-of-the-match winning 71 not out in Australia's four-run win in Friday's series opener at the Oval.

"Mitchell Johnson's innings at the end is a winning innings. He got the runs quickly and that gave us a score to defend which we were able to do thanks to the bowlers doing a great job," said Australia captain Michael Clarke.

England skipper Andrew Strauss bemoaned his team's batting collapse.

"We should have won this one, we can't let opportunities like this slip through our fingers," Strauss said. "We lost wickets at regular intervals. We were the architects of our own downfall."

England were in dire straits at 168 for seven in the 37th over. They were given hope by a stand of 36 between Collingwood and Graeme Swann.

But the game was up for England when Swann was bowled by Nathan Bracken after an ugly heave across the line.

And, two balls later, 204 for eight became 204 for nine when Bracken bowled tailender Ryan Sidebottom for nought.

Brett Lee finished the match by bowling Collingwood, who faced 84 balls with three fours.

Strauss and fellow opener Ravi Bopara got the chase off to a sound start.

But all-rounder Shane Watson, the fifth bowler brought on by Michael Clarke, separated the pair when, with his fifth ball, he had Bopara lbw for 27.

Watson then made it two wickets for no runs in four balls when Matt Prior was caught behind to leave England 76 for two in the 17th over.

Strauss, his concentration perhaps broken by a fly-past by a World War II Lancaster bomber, marking the 65th anniversary of Lord's reverting back to a cricket ground from a Royal Air Force (RAF) recruiting centre, fell next.

Strauss' innings of 47, off just 53 balls with six fours, ended in tame fashion when he chipped a gentle return catch to off-spinner Hauritz.

England's decline then continued when Owais Shah was run out after a wretched mix-up with Collingwood.

Luke Wright fought back with 20 at better than a run-a-ball before he was caught behind, off Lee.

After Strauss won the toss, Ferguson's innings helped Australia recover from losing three wickets for 11 runs as they declined from 62 without loss to 73 for three, with the deceptively quick Wright striking twice.

Cameron White, who also made a fifty on Friday, and Ferguson staunched the flow of wickets with a stand of 69.

Their partnership ended when occasional medium-pacer Bopara struck first ball with White, trying to run the ball to third man, caught behind for 42.

And Australia were 155 for five when off-spinner Swann bowled Michael Hussey with a ball that turned past the left-hander's outside edge.

Ferguson's 58-ball innings, featuring five fours, ended when he was bowled hitting across the line by Anderson. That gave the Lancashire quick his first wicket in five international matches.

This series continues with Wednesday's day/night fixture at the Rose Bowl.