Bell and Bopara help England take stranglehold over Australia

Andy Flower’s side won by six wickets at The Oval, passing their target of 252 with four overs to spare.

Australia posted 251-7 in their innings, thanks to knocks of 66 and 65 respectively from Shane Watson and George Bailey.

But half-centuries from Ravi Bopara (82) and Ian Bell (75) steered the hosts to victory to put them 2-0 up in the five-match series.

“It’s nice to get over the line,” said Cook.

“I thought Ravi especially played really well, and obviously Ian as well.

“A score of 250 is always gettable here at The Oval when you have wickets in hand and the batters did their job.

“Our bowlers also did well. We put that squeeze on between 25 and 35 overs, and that really took 20 to 30 runs off their score.”

The third one-day international is at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

Bell, a revelation at the top of the order since his ODI recall last month, brought up his 50 in 71 balls with his fourth boundary – to add to a straight six off Shane Watson – and Bopara was more fluent still on a good batting surface in a chanceless half-century from only 54 deliveries.

The outcome was rarely in the remotest doubt, though, once Australia’s innings stalled in the middle overs.

Opener Watson’s half-century had hinted at much better than 251-7, after Michael Clarke won the toss.

Watson (66) reached 50 with his eighth four at a run a ball but took another 30 over his last 14 runs, before George Bailey cashed in his lengthy reconnaissance in a career-best 65.

The tourists reached three figures in the 20th over. But there was just one boundary, for the loss of Clarke’s wicket, in the next 10 as Graeme Swann in particular put the brakes on.

It was the off-spinner too who got rid of Watson, unable to do any more than chip a straightforward catch into the wind to deep midwicket as he tried to revive the scoring rate.

James Anderson, nursing a tight groin from Friday’s series opener at Lord’s, was unfit and replaced by Jade Dernbach – who took the new ball alongside Steven Finn.

The latter saw off the dangerous David Warner early, mistiming a pull for an easy catch into the leg-side ring.

Watson had some fortune on his side, dropped by Jonathan Trott in the gully on eight off Dernbach and twice surviving via DRS when Stuart Broad thought he might have him lbw.

He and No 3 Peter Forrest had to start again, after a half-hour rain stoppage midway through the 12th over.

Broad interrupted any momentum, when he had Forrest deflecting the ball down the leg-side where diving Craig Kieswetter took a very good catch.