Associated Press

London, July 13:

Adam Gilchrist’s unbeaten 121 led Australia to an eight-wicket victory and a 2-1 one-day series win over England. Gilchrist hit 17 fours and two sixes to steer Australia to 229 off 34.5 overs. England compiled 228-7 from its 50 overs. Kevin Pietersen top-scored with 74. It was the last match between England and Australia before the five-Test Ashes series. Gilchrist’s 11th ODI hundred was the backbone of Australia’s innings. Matt-hew Hayden scored 31, Ricky Ponting hit 43, and Damien Martyn was not out on 24. Earlier, Vikram Solanki helped England recover from 93-6. Solanki (53 not out) replaced bowler Simon Jones in the 28th over and added 93 runs with Pietersen.

Umpire David Shepherd was in charge of his final international match after a 20-year career, drawing tributes from Prince Philip, Australia PM John Howard and former British PM John Major.