CRICKET:Michael Vaughan will return to the England captaincy for the final Commonwealth Bank group match against New Zealand at the Gabba tomorrow with the victors guaranteed a place against Australia in the final of the triangular one-day series.

Vaughan confirmed that Ed Joyce, whose maiden international hundred formed the basis of the recent win against Australia, will retain his opener's place.

England, watching in Brisbane, where they were preparing for a final attempt to salvage something from their winter, endured an agonising wait before Australia edged out New Zealand by five wickets in Melbourne with only 10 balls to spare.

A New Zealand victory would have left England needing not only to win tomorrow but also well enough to take a bonus point. New Zealand were formidably placed for victory at the interval, their 290 for seven demanding Australia achieve the highest winning total by a side batting second in ODIs at the MCG. On a slow pitch, it was a herculean task for Australia but they pulled it off thanks to a double-century stand between the captain, Ricky Ponting, and the local favourite, Brad Hodge.

Ponting has rarely worked harder for an ODI century, striking only six fours and a six in an immaculate 104 from 113 balls that reasserted his status as the leading batsman in the world. But it was Hodge, going into the game with scores of nought and one in the series, who proved nerveless. He scraped only 19, all in singles, from his first 37 deliveries, but to the delight of his home crowd struck the winning runs to finish with 99 from 86 balls. "It was a pressure cooker for me," he said.

Vaughan made no attempt to disguise his surprise at the extent of England's improvement from the side that had twice been humiliated in Adelaide.

"You couldn't expect us to move from the low levels at Adelaide to those achieved at Sydney in the space of one match," he said. "We did it with no-frills cricket. Basic, good cricket. It is a bit "old school", but with the players we have in the squad we feel it is the best way to go."

England, sensing they have stumbled upon a World Cup formula in the nick of time, are now desperate to reach the finals to build on their improved form.

Jacques Kallis starred as South Africa inflicted a crushing 164-run defeat on Pakistan in the first One-Day International at Centurion Park yesterday.

The Proteas posted a formidable total of 392 for six - the sixth highest in ODI history - and then made light work of Pakistan's top order.