In a thrilling encounter at Chester-le-Street, stand-in captain Harry Brook's maiden ODI century (110*) powered England to a crucial victory over Australia, winning by 46 runs via the DLS method to stay alive in the five-match series. 

Brook's resilient knock, supported by Will Jacks (84), helped England chase down Australia's 304/7 before rain halted play at 254/4 in 37.4 overs, giving the hosts a well-deserved win.

Australia, unbeaten in 14 ODIs since last year’s World Cup, saw their streak broken as England also ended a seven-match losing streak to their archrivals in this format. Despite a strong performance from Alex Carey (77*) and valuable contributions from Steve Smith (51), Cameron Green (42), and Aaron Hardie (44), Australia's total proved insufficient as Brook and Jacks turned the tide for the home side.

Mitchell Starc’s early breakthroughs had reduced England to 11/2, but the 156-run partnership between Brook and Jacks swung the momentum. England's aggressive approach after the PowerPlay neutralized Australia’s bowling attack, and even Mitchell Marsh's spin options of Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short were unable to stop the onslaught.

Rain interrupted proceedings, but by then, England were well ahead of the DLS par score, sealing a much-needed win to keep the series alive and setting up a tense finish to the series.

Brief Scores:

Australia 304/7 in 50 overs (Alex Carey 77*, Steve Smith 60, Aaron Hardie 44, Cameron Green 42; Jofra Archer 2-67).

England 254/4 in 37.4 overs (Harry Brook 110*, Will Jacks 84; Cameron Green 2-45, Mitchell Starc 2-63).