England in need of rescue

CANBERRA, Dec 10 AAP - A former Queensland lifesaver left England's tour of Australia in desperate need of rescue as he guided the Prime Minister's XI to a four-wicket win over the tourists at Manuka Oval in Canberra on Tuesday.

All-rounder Lee Carseldine, who has only taken one wicket in domestic limited overs cricket this summer and averaged a tick over 17 with the bat, did his best impression of Garry Sobers with bat and ball against the struggling tourists.

The loss meant England's winless start to its tour of Australia now stretches over 11 matches and more than 50 days, a worrying statistic with the one day international series to get underway on Friday.

Carseldine, bowling left-arm medium pace, picked up the wicket of Paul Collingwood with only his second ball of the match and added Ian Blackwell in his third over, finishing with figures of 2-7 from five overs as England was restricted to 152 from 40.4 overs.

The PM's XI then cruised to victory with more than 10 overs to spare, passing England for the loss of six wickets.

The match was reduced to 42 overs a side after overnight rain delayed the start by almost two hours.

Carseldine formed the backbone to the PM's run chase, holding the innings together after England quick James Kirtley took three early wickets to have the hosts 3-37 in the ninth over.

When Carseldine was dismissed playing a loose shot off Craig White for 46, captain Mark Waugh took charge, punishing Collingwood and young off-spinner Gareth Batty.

Waugh was eventually dismissed for 42 when he attempted to put Batty over the mid-wicket fence and only managed to give Andy Flintoff a simple catch.

But by then the damage had been done.

Earlier, England scrambled to 152 thanks to Academy rookies Chris Read and Batty, who saved the tourists from another potentially embarrassing situation.

The pair came together with England reeling at 7-85 in the 25th over, but combined in a sensible 61-run partnership which ensured the tourists would set some semblance of a run chase.

Victorian paceman Mick Lewis was the pick of the PM's XI bowlers, finishing with 3-22 from 8.4 overs while South Australian Paul Rofe took 3-34 (six overs) and Victorian leg spinner Cameron White 2-36 (9).

Read, playing in place of the rested Alec Stewart, finished not out on 33 after a controlled 42-ball innings while Batty's 29 came off 40 balls and included two fours and a six from a Simon Katich over.

The unheralded duo needed to produce some heroics after Rofe rebounded from an early hammering to take the first three wickets to fall - Nick Knight (2), Craig White (17) and captain Marcus Trescothick (21).