Michael Vaughan, the England captain, helped end his team’s barren run against Australia as his highest one-day international score at Edgbaston moved the hosts towards a six wicket triumph.
Vaughan, England’s best batsman during the 2002-03 Ashes, booked a place for his team in Saturday’s ICC Champions Trophy final - as well as halting a 14-match losing streak to the world champions - with a cultured 86.
They will play the winners of tomorrow’s semi-final between Pakistan and West Indies.
Vaughan has struggled in limited-overs contests for his country and this was only his ninth half-century in 55 appearances.
He shared a 140-run stand with Marcus Trescothick, who fell for 81, and another 66-run partnership for the third-wicket with Andrew Strauss. The innings came to its conclusion when Vaughan toe-ended a pull off the bowling of Brett Lee.
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Vaughan’s half-century arrived from 75 balls and England, needing 260, reached their target with six wickets still standing and nearly four overs to spare, with Strauss unbeaten on 52.
In keeping with his one-day form this summer, Vaughan struggled early on and had scored only four from 21 deliveries before he began an assault on Lee.
A clip off the pads to the square-leg boundary was followed by a cover-driven four, and he struck three more through the off-side as well as a pull to the ropes in Lee’s next over.
Trescothick gave Glenn McGrath similar treatment in taking 16 from the ninth over of the innings, after the Australians were boosted by the dismissal of Vikram Solanki (7).
Jason Gillespie made the breakthrough when he gained a leg-before decision to leave the hosts 21 for one.
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But Trescothick followed his 66 against Sri Lanka last week by getting to another landmark in style, striking seamer Michael Kasprowicz for a straight six from his 54th delivery. Trescothick then brought about his own demise for 81 when he went walkabout outside leg-stump and was bowled by Andrew Symonds.
Andrew Flintoff made a cameo 16, including a top-edged six and four off Lee, before nicking to slip.
Earlier, England stemmed the flow of runs in mid-innings, when Vaughan bowled in tandem with fellow spinner Ashley Giles as the world champions failed to build on a position of 96 for two after 20 overs quite as they might have hoped.
Vaughan claimed the significant scalps of top scorer Damien Martyn (65) and Darren Lehmann (38), who was equally well set, to return figures of 10-0-42-2 with his occasional off-breaks.
Left-armer Giles was equally economical on an easy-paced surface, taking the wicket of Australian captain Ricky Ponting as he sent down ten consecutive overs from the Pavilion End, only marred by conceding 16 from his final two.
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When Martyn holed out for 65, shortly after Vaughan ran out Symonds for nought, Australia were 210 for six.
But Michael Clarke put a streaky start - which saw him edge his first two deliveries off Steve Harmison through the slips for four, the second perilously close to Andrew Flintoff - behind him to hit 42 from 34 deliveries.
He fell in the final over to Flintoff after Darren Gough claimed two tail-enders to finish with three for 48.