England A rescued by Giles

New South Wales 243-6 England A 244-8 England A win by two wickets

England A maintained their unbeaten tour run with another dramatic triumph in the first of their two one-day matches with New South Wales at the SCG yesterday.

The tourists seemed set for certain defeat after Adam Hollioake was run out following a misunderstanding with Ashley Giles, leaving England struggling on 162 for 7 with no recognised batsmen to come and chasing a victory target of 244.

But, like their similarly amazing wins over South Australia and Victoria, they again snatched victory against the odds with Giles hitting an unbeaten 39 off as many deliveries to claim a two-wicket triumph with two balls remaining.

Glenn Chapple began the march to victory with a quickfire 22 but when he was run out attempting a third run, England's hopes appeared to end with him. But Giles forged an unbroken 39-run partnership with Dean Headley and sealed the win with a four off the seamer Brad McNamara to extend the tourists' unbeaten run to seven matches.

The former Somerset all-rounder Shane Lee helped New South Wales reach 243 for 6 in their 50 overs with a brilliant 113 off 103 balls, including eight fours and a huge six off Giles.

England A won toss

NEW SOUTH WALES

M J Slater c Hegg b Chapple 1

C J Richards c Giles b Such 55

T H Bayliss c Such b Ealham 12

S Lee c White b Hollioake 113

K J Roberts b Giles 41

B E McNamara c Chapple b Ealham 1

S M Thompson not out 10

P A Emery not out 0

Extras (lb7, w1, nb2) 10

Total (for 6, 50 overs) 243

Fall: 1-1, 2-56, 3-99, 4-216, 5-219, 6-236.

Did not bat: *G R J Matthews, G R Robertson, S Nikitaras.

Bowling: Headley 10-3-26-0; Chapple 7-1-40-1; Ealham 10-0-50-2; Such 9-0-38-1; Giles 10-0-48-1; Hollioake 4-0-34-1.

ENGLAND A

A McGrath c Lee b Robertson 43

M P Vaughan c Emery b Thompson 19

O A Shah c Emery b Robertson 19

*A J Hollioake run out 51

C White b Robertson 3

M A Ealham run out 7

W K Hegg c Emery b Robertson 2

A F Giles not out 39

G Chapple run out 22

D W Headley not out 20

Extras (lb10, w3, nb6) 19

Total (for 8, 49.4 overs) 244

Fall: 1-32, 2-74, 3-103, 4-121, 5-143, 6-155, 7-162, 8-244.

Did not bat: P M Such.

Bowling: Nikitaras 8-0-41-0; Thompson 10-0-41-1; Lee 10-0-47-0; Robertson 10-0-46-4; McNamara 5.3-1-25-0; Bayliss 6-2-29-0.

Umpires: I Thomas and A Morgan.