Australia won the deciding one-day international against England by eight wickets at The Oval in London on Tuesday to take the three-match series 2-1.
Set 229 to win, the world champions cruised to their target with more than 15 overs to spare.
Adam Gilchrist, scoring his first one-day international 100 in more than a year, finished on 121 not out and Damien Martyn was unbeaten on 24.
Gilchrist faced just 101 balls with two sixes and 17 fours.
In eight one-day matches between the teams this season, including the one-off Twenty20, England and Australia had each won three with one no-result and one tie, the Triangular Series final 10 days ago.
But it was Australia, bidding for a ninth successive Ashes series win, who had the momentum, having levelled the series at Lord’s on Sunday.
”That’s as close to perfect as one-day cricket gets for us. To restrict them early on and to peel those runs off with more than 15 overs to go and only two wickets down. That’s a very big and comprehensive win,” Australia captain Ricky Ponting said afterwards.
However, ahead of next week’s first Test at Lord’s, Ponting added: ”I won’t read too much into the one-day game leading into the Test series.”
But he admitted these two wins, coming after Thursday’s nine-wicket reverse against England at Headingley and last month’s stunning defeat by Bangladesh, had been timely.
”A couple of weeks ago, even a couple of days ago, it didn’t look that bright for us.
”The pleasing thing for me and the team is that a lot of individual players have lifted and got right back into form in the big games when it really mattered for us and they were players we needed to have in some form leading into the Ashes series.”
Meanwhile, Vaughan played down defeat by saying: ”On Thursday, everyone was saying the momentum was with England. I certainly didn’t believe that and I certainly don’t believe the momentum swung towards Australia.
”One-day cricket is a totally different concept.”
Once more it was Australia’s bowlers who created the platform for victory by causing a top-order collapse that this time reduced England to 93 for six.
Then Kevin Pietersen, doing his prospects of appearing in the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday next week no harm, struck a rapid 74 and together with Vikram Solanki put on 93 in 95 balls for the seventh wicket.
”He’s certainly given the selectors a headache,” Vaughan said of South Africa-born Pietersen.
Solanki, the first active batting substitute in a one-day international, made 53 not out off 63 balls with five fours.
Previously out-of-touch fast-bowler Jason Gillespie led the Australia attack with three for 44.
England, a bowler light after Solanki replaced Simon Jones, were powerless to prevent Australia getting off to a flying start as openers Gilchrist and Hayden put on 91 in 93 balls.
Boundaries from the left-handers rained down on England with Stephen Harmison, whose 9,5 overs cost 81 runs, bearing the brunt.
Darren Gough ended the stand with his third ball back when he had Hayden caught behind for 31 in front of a 23 000-strong capacity crowd.
Gilchrist went to 100 with a single off Andrew Flintoff and celebrated his 11th one-day international century — his first since reaching three figures against Zimbabwe in January 2004 at Hobart — and celebrated by repeatedly punching the air.
Meanwhile, Ponting, carrying on from his 100 at Lord’s, looked in sublime touch making a near-run-a-ball 43 before he was stumped by Geraint Jones off left-arm spinner Ashley Giles.
After winning the toss, Australia had opener Marcus Trescothick out for nought, uppercutting Brett Lee to Michael Kasprowicz at third man.
At the other end, Glenn McGrath — in contrast to England’s new-ball bowlers — reeled off 27 balls without conceding a run.
Vaughan, on nine, broke the sequence when he scored off a top-edged hook after Gillespie, at long leg, dropped the catch.
Andrew Strauss was given a life when he was dropped by Gilchrist before Ponting ran out Vaughan with a direct hit from gully for 15.
Not long afterwards, Strauss (36) was caught behind off a superb Kasprowicz off-cutter from around the wicket.
And when Geraint Jones (one) recklessly uppercut Gillespie to Kasprowicz, England were 93 for six.
Pietersen, though, lofted left-arm spinner Michael Clarke for six down to long-on where Kasprowicz took a stunning catch but fell over the boundary.
He then produced an outrageous stroke, charging down the pitch to Gillespie and flat-batting him over his head for six.
Gillespie avenged that when he ended Pietersen’s innings, bowling him with a well-pitched up delivery.
Pietersen faced 84 balls with two sixes and seven fours.
This match, his 172nd one-day international, was David Shepherd’s last as an international umpire before retirement and the Englishman, who had also stood in 92 Tests, was given a guard of honour by both teams as he left the field. — Sapa-AFP