Live Commentary: England vs. Australia - as it happened

Good afternoon. I'm guessing you're here for some big hitting, right? Well we better check if Aaron Finch is in the mood again. England vs. Australia, at Chester-le-Street. Sit back and enjoy!

Finch entertained us with that superb 156 on Thursday night down in Southampton. For once, it's the Australians who are full of confidence. Can they win this series 2-0? Stuart Broad will be determined to set the record straight today. The toss is coming very shortly.

AUSTRALIA WIN THE TOSS AND WILL BOWL FIRST! We'll have to wait a bit longer to see Mr Finch, with George Bailey confirming that his side want to chase today. Full team news in the next post.

ENGLAND: Hales, Lumb, Wright, Root, Morgan, Bopara, Buttler, Broad, Finn, Briggs, Dernbach

AUSTRALIA: Warner, Finch, Watson, Marsh, Maxwell, Bailey, Wade, Faulkner, Johnson, Coulter-Nile, Ahmed

England have resisted the urge to play Michael Carberry and choose to named the same side for the final game of the series. Australia have made one change, with Nathan Coulter-Nile replacing fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.

It's probably a bit cheeky to ask for an innings like the one we saw from Finch but I'd expect more entertainment. Australia will be desperate to win this series and they'll back themselves to chase anything.

I must admit that I'm surprised not to see Carberry get a game in this T20 series. The Hampshire opener has been quite incredible in this year's domestic competition, so he's probably earned an opportunity. What about James Tredwell? Is he being saved for the ODI series? Danny Briggs once again has to take a lot of responsibility as the main spinner.

We probably won't see as many runs at Durham as we did in Southampton. There's usually something in it for the seamer at Chester-le-Street, so the first few overs could be difficult.

If you haven't seen Nathan Coulter-Nile play before, you might be pleasantly surprised. The seamer is very aggressive and bowls a brilliant bouncer. England will be tested by the 25-year-old.

Joe Root has just been interviewed before the start of the game. That bouncer which hit the helmet on Thursday has definitely left a mark. Root needed four stitches in his lip, which makes that 90* even better.

Bailey tells BBC's Test Match Special: "Nathan Coulter-Nile is a pretty good all-round cricketer, he swings the ball well, he's good in the field and he can bat well, so he's a good Twenty20 cricketer."

I think that's probably enough build-up for one day. It's almost time for some cricket. The Australians are waiting patiently on the balcony for Alex Hales and Michael Lumb to appear. The first bowl will be bowled in around five minutes.

The final preparations have been made and all of the players are out in the middle. Can Australia claim a series win? Or will we see a fightback from the hosts? Mitchell Johnson will bowl the first over of the match.

Lumb drives the first ball firmly but picks out Glenn Maxwell on the off-side. Johnson nips one back slightly to make life uncomfortable for the batsman midway through the over. England get their first run when Lumb miscues a pull shot for a single. Hales ducks a sharp bouncer from Johnson. Australia appeal for caught behind late in the over but the umpire isn't interested. Great start from Johnson.

Shane Watson is given the task of opening the bowling with Johnson. The all-rounder begins his spell poorly, with Lumb cutting a wider ball through the off-side for four. A sliced shot to third-man brings a single before a leg-bye hands the strike back to Lumb. The left-handed opener shuffles across the crease and pulls to deep mid-wicket, where the usually dependable David Warner fails to prevent a boundary. A nudge off the pads earns Lumb two more. Lumb 12* Hales 0*

Hales hammers a fuller delivery into the off-side but picks out the fielder. Johnson goes too straight to the right-handed batsman and he cashes in by clipping the ball through a gap on the leg-side for four. The bowler gets it wrong again, so Hales rocks back to pull four more behind square. A full-toss should be punished but Hales doesn't time his shot on this occasion. One more run makes it nine from the third over.

Coulter-Nile is brought into the attack to replace Watson. Wade thinks he has Hales caught behind once again but the bowler doesn't react at all and the umpire shakes his head. A nudge into the leg-side brings a single. Lumb smashes the ball into the air on the leg-side and it looks like Maxwell might get there but a misjudgement means the batsman earns four. Decent start for Coulter-Nile, five from his first over. Hales 10* Lumb 16*

James Faulkner, the new bowler, is left frustrated when a bottom edge from a pulling Hales races away for four. The all-rounder's mood isn't improved when Hales heaves four more runs past the man at short fine-leg. Shot! Get your hard hats on in Durham. Hales launches a massive six straight over the bowler's head to display his power to everyone inside the ground. The Nottinghamshire ace earns four more when he beats a diving Bailey at deep mid-wicket. A single means Hales keeps the strike.

Remember those bouncers I mentioned? Coulter-Nile attempts one but a top edge from Hales is enough to earn the England man four runs over Wade's head. An open-faced shot allows the batting duo to rotate the strike. Lumb advances down the pitch and lofts a slightly mistimed shot over mid-on to collect four. A much more convincing shot from the same batsman earns four more over mid-wicket. Lumb ends the over by picking up a single. Excellent start from England in the powerplay.

Shot! England pick up three runs early in Watson's new over and Lumb picks the slightly slower ball to power a massive six over long-on. A thick edge to third-man brings a single and Hales pushes another easy run to cover. Lumb opens up the off-side to drill a couple more through extra cover late in the over. England cruising at the moment. Hales 38* Lumb 35*

Australia's newest leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed is introduced for the first time today. Hales plays a shot that deserves to be seen in a Test match at Lord's when he steers the ball through point for four. An easy single on the leg-side hands the strike to Lumb, who misses out when he mistimes a sweep. Ahmed abandons an lbw appeal and England take advantage to sneak a leg-bye. One more extra makes it seven from the over.

Hales begins Faulkner's over by picking up a single. Lumb advances down the pitch but his miscued drive only brings him one run. Chance! Hales isn't interested in sneaking an extra, despite Lumb's venture down the pitch. Faulkner turns to throw at the stumps but his accuracy is off and Lumb just survives. The bowler attempts the yorker but Hales latches onto a leg-stump half-volley to drill four through square-leg. A single to long-off ends the over. Hales 49* Lumb 36*

Lumb is fortunate to see a poorly timed shot land safely on the leg-side at the beginning of a new Johnson over. Hales is disappointed to miss with a drive outside off-stump. Johnson drops his length slightly and Hales takes full advantage to clear the rope at wide long-on. The bowler has a few words but what do you say there? Hales wins the battle again a ball later when he beats the man at short fine-leg to pick up four more. The right-handed batsman slices a single through third-man. Shot! Lumb ends a successful over by lofting four runs over long-off. Excellent batting. Hales 64* Lumb 43*

Ahmed is nudged into the leg-side for one early in a new over.

Nelson strikes! Lumb goes for another big shot but this time he skies his shot straight into the air and Wade steadies himself to take the catch. Ahmed has his first international wicket. The ball has been changed. Luke Wright is the new batsman.

Hales nudges a couple through mid-wicket before guiding a single to deep cover. Wright lunges forward to push his first ball into the off-side for one. A mistake from Faulkner at point allows Hales to cut the final ball for one. Eight overs left in the innings.

Coulter-Nile starts a new over with a full-toss, which Hales slices through third-man for one. Wright sits deep in his crease to pull a short-ball to long-on for a single. Coulter-Nile beats the outside edge with a slightly slower delivery. Hales gets enough bat on a good yorker to pick up four fortunate runs through fine-leg. Two more over cover makes it eight from the over. Hales 76* Wright 2*

Maxwell is into the attack to bowl his spinners. Wright takes advantage of a fumble from Warner at long-on to collect two. Great running from the England duo to earn a couple more when Wright prods the next ball into the leg-side. The Sussex all-rounder advances down the pitch to push a single to long-off. Hales adds another through square-leg. Wright makes it seven from the over with a single to mid-wicket.

Johnson returns to bowl the 15th over and he begins with three dot balls. Wright ends that run by pulling a single into the leg-side. Hales squeezes out a fuller delivery to earn one to long-off. An excellent over from Johnson ends disappointingly as Wright collects four past Wade with a thick inside edge. Hales 78* Wright 13*

Hales pushes Maxwell through the off-side for one. The crowd at Chester-le-Street come alive when Wright skips down the pitch to launch the spinner down the ground for a massive six. A late cut beats the fielder at backward point to give Wright another boundary and the same batsman takes England past 150 a ball later by heaving a full-toss over mid-wicket for four more. Three from the final two balls makes it a very good over. Four overs left in the innings. England might be thinking about 200.

Wright chips a couple of runs into the leg-side at the start of Faulkner's new over.

Wright departs for 30 from 18 deliveries when Johnson hangs in the air to take a great catch at mid-off. Excellent fielding from the Aussie. Eoin Morgan is the new batsman for England.

Morgan starts his innings by cutting a couple of runs past backward point. A straighter delivery is nudged to long-on for one. Hales has been quiet for a couple of overs but he continues to accumulate runs by pushing a single to long-on. Morgan drops to one knee to sweep a single to fine-leg. Good over from Faulkner.

Morgan is clearly seeing the ball pretty well already. The left-handed batsman stands still to launch a big six over mid-wicket early in Coulter-Nile's over. A quick single is then taken to Warner at mid-off. The bowler's front foot no-ball is chipped over mid-wicket for two by Hales, who is gifted with a free-hit. Hales fancies his chances but a lofted shot drops between fielders on the off-side and brings just two runs. A slightly wider deliver is cut over point for four as Hales moves into the nineties. Finch fields well at short fine-leg to restrict Hales to one. Morgan ends the over by lofting two over extra cover. Two overs left. Can Hales reach his century? Hales 91* Morgan 13*

Hales wants two when he pushes the ball to long-off but Morgan rejects the optimistic call. The England duo run brilliantly to collect two leg-byes when Faulkner loses his line slightly. Morgan does well to pick up a single off a good yorker. Hales punches a full-toss down the ground for two.

Hales is left disappointed as an excellent innings comes to an end when Warner takes a good low catch at long-on. The Nottinghamshire ace deserved a century. Morgan and Jos Buttler are in for the last over. Ahmed will bowl the final six deliveries.

What a start to the over! Buttler goes for a golden duck when Ahmed bowls the new batsman with a beautiful piece of spin bowling. Five balls left. Bopara in next.

Bopara sweeps his first delivery behind square for a single. Shot! Superb from Morgan, who drops to one knee to fire a big six over mid-wicket.

Morgan targets another six over mid-wicket but his flat shot is well caught by Coulter-Nile. Ahmed is enjoying this final over. Root in for the last two balls.

Root gets the reverse-sweep out of the bag to collect a single. Big swing from Bopara to end the innings but no contact. England fail to reach 200 but Australia will do well to score 196.

England have plenty to thank Alex Hales for in that innings. The opener shows exactly why he's a force in this format in the game. A brilliant 94 off 61 balls means England have a very good chance to level this series in Durham.

Faulkner did well to pick up a couple of wickets but I think most of the praise should be reserved for Ahmed. The leg-spinner was trusted to bowl the final over of the innings and he showed some good variations. Figures of 3-25 are very impressive.

A couple of early wickets could be crucial for the hosts. Warner and Finch can begin to chase that total very quickly if they're allowed a good start. England know exactly what the two openers can do.

England didn't bowl the yorker well enough in Southampton and it's certainly something they need to do better today. Broad has his men out in the middle now for one final talk. Will Danny Briggs be given an early bowl?

Everyone is back in their positions. Steven Finn will bowl the first over. Warner begins the innings on strike. Australia need 196 to win the match and series.

Warner starts the innings by nudging a single off his pads. Finn is too straight to Finch and Australia are gifted a leg-bye. Warner pushes one to mid-off. Finn fires in a very good bouncer to surprise Finch, who can't get close to the ball with his hook shot. Just one more from the over. Great start for Finn.

Broad opens the bowling with Finn. Finch takes advantage of a full delivery to loft four runs over mid-off.

Big, big wicket. Finch targets the boundary but his miscued pull shot loops into the air and Wright takes a simple catch. Great start for the hosts. Watson is the new batsman.

Watson opens the face to steer his second ball through third-man for one. Broad forces Warner onto the back foot with some good pace. No freedom on offer for the dangerous left-handed opener. It's another vey good over.

Watson starts Finn's over by picking up a couple of runs. A fuller delivery is driven powerfully to Bopara at mid-off. Shot! Watson is all power. Finn drops his length slightly and the batsman hammers four over mid-wicket.

It's an awful mix-up between Warner and Watson. A single is called for but Watson is sent back by his partner. Morgan hits the stumps from point to send the second Australian batsman back to the dugout. Marsh is the new arrival to the crease.

Finn greets Marsh with a beauty to beat the outside edge. Excellent start from England.

Warner decides it's time to attack as he lofts Broad down the ground for four runs. The bowler offers Warner plenty of freedom outside off-stump and the opener takes advantage to cut four more. A single to third-man brings Marsh on strike. Broad delivers a beauty to push one across Marsh's outside edge. Warner 11* Marsh 0*

Finn begins his third over but it starts disastrously from an England point of view as Warner frees his arms to launch a big six over mid-off. A miscued effort to mid-on allows Warner to rotate the strike. Marsh gets off the mark with one on the leg-side. Excellent bowling from Finn, who pushes his delivery slightly wider when Warner comes dancing down the pitch. 10 scored in the over.

Briggs comes into the attack and starts with a leg-side wide. Warner skips down the pitch a couple of balls later to earn four over wide long-on. Briggs fires in a quicker delivery but Warner adjusts well to fire four more through the covers. Shot! Warner dances down the pitch again and beats the diving Root, who can't prevent another six from being scored. Great over for the tourists.

Root is brought on for his first spell. Marsh cuts a short delivery through point for two. before adding a quick single on the leg-side. Warner drops to one knee to pull behind square for one. Marsh pushes another run to deep mid-wicket. Shot! Warner takes full advantage of a shorter ball to cut four, with Lumb failing to pull the ball away from the boundary in the deep. Australia need 130 from 12 overs. Warner 44* Marsh 5*

Bopara is the next bowler off the conveyor belt for England. Marsh pushes the first ball into the off-side for one. Warner leaves a leg-side delivery alone and Bopara is punished for a wide. A nudge into the leg-side brings a run before the bowler delivers another wide, this time on the off-side. Marsh clips a single to fine-leg. Warner runs impressively to collect two from a push to mid-wicket. England need to remove Warner.

Marsh starts Root's over with a single. Root drifts one down the leg-side and is punished for a wide. The spinner thinks he might have Warner lbw but the umpire isn't interested and Australia sneak a leg-bye. Six! Marsh has been quiet since arriving at the crease but he scores his first boundary in style by launching a big six over mid-wicket.

Root gets his wicket when he beats Marsh, who was probably looking for another six, with a quicker delivery that sneaks onto the stumps. Good time to take a wicket for the hosts. Captain Bailey in next. Australia need more than 11 an over.

Broad brings himself into the attack for a third over. Warner sits deep in his crease to cut a single to deep cover. Root comes in at slip for Bailey. It's good, attacking cricket from England but Bailey fights back with a good lofted shot for four down the ground. A clip to fine-leg brings two more. Shot! Wow, where did that come from? Bailey shows his intentions with a huge maximum over mid-wicket. Good contest, this one.

Warner edges closer to 50 by pushing Root for a single. The spinner comes round the wicket to Bailey, who picks the gap well on the leg-side to earn two. Root's line isn't brilliant, which means it's easy for Bailey to add another two through square-leg. A single gives the strike back to Warner. HALF-CENTURY! Warner reaches 50 for the 10th time in T20I cricket with a single on the leg-side. It's an excellent over of running from Australia, with Bailey adding another two from the final ball. Warner 50* Bailey 19*

Dernbach looks quizzically at the umpire when he's punished for a wide, despite Warner backing away. The opener pushes a single into the leg-side. Bailey doesn't quite find the middle of his bat but still manages to pick up two over extra cover. A shorter delivery is cut away for one. Excellent from Dernbach, who makes life uncomfortable for Warner with a good bouncer. Chance! Warner mistimes his shot and he probably thinks he's on his way. Finn calls for it but he misjudges it terribly and the ball lands safely.

Hales shows Finn how it's done by taking a very good low catch at deep mid-wicket when Warner targets another boundary. That's a crucial moment in the match. Australia still need 85 from seven overs. Maxwell in next.

Briggs returns to the attack for a new over. There's not much turn on offer but he varies his pace nicely early in the over.

Briggs will take a lot of confidence from this wicket. Bailey sweeps, but misses, so the umpire raises his finger to signal lbw. It's Wade's turn now.

Wade begins his innings with a single. Maxwell adds another to make sure he keeps the strike.

Bopara comes back on for a new spell. Maxwell gets off strike with one on the leg-side. Wade sits deep in his crease and nudges the ball to mid-wicket for a couple. The same batsman comes dancing down the pitch and is fortunate to see a deflection off the glove land safely. Clever bowling from Bopara there. A big heave into the leg-side earns Maxwell a couple and a pull shot brings two more. Eight from the over. Maxwell 7* Wade 4*

Briggs starts the over by beating Wade, who played across the line, with a quicker ball. Good bowling from Briggs. England are edging closer to victory. Australia need 73 from 29 balls.

Faulkner lunges forward to push his first ball to long-off for one. Maxwell is thinking boundary but he must settle for a single on the off-side. Shot! Faulkner gives himself some room and lofts the ball over cover for four. Just four overs left.

Six! Bopara is too short and Maxwell rocks back to power a big six into the stands behind square on the leg-side. A miscued pull shot brings two more through mid-wicket. Aggressive cricket from Maxwell as he steers the medium pacer through cover for four. Finn and Morgan combine well at long-off and long-onn to restrict the same batsman to two. However, there's no stopping Maxwell a ball later when he punches four more down the ground. One from the final ball makes it 19 off the over. Maxwell 27* Faulkner 5*

Australia need 48 off 18 balls. It's a big ask for Maxwell and Faulkner. Dernbach is back on.

Good start to the over as Dernbach beats Maxwell's outside edge.

Maxwell really should punish a low full-toss but he can only pick out Lumb in the deep on the leg-side. It's surely all over now. You feel that Maxwell was the last hope for Australia.

What a catch! Dernbach surprises Faulkner with an aggressive short ball and Morgan responds brilliantly to take a diving catch running away at backward point. Dernbach on a hat-trick...

Johnson survives! A drive into the off-side brings a single and gives the strike to Coulter-Nile. The newest batsman gets to the non-striker's by taking a run to fine-leg. Brilliant over from Dernbach, who has figures of 3-17 from three overs.

Six! Biggest shot of the day from Coulter-Nile, who launches a big maximum over mid-wicket. Six! The returning Finn delivers a short delivery but the ball is helped over the rope at fine-leg by a good pull shot. Coulter-Nile is thinking about a third maximum but he's beaten by a good slower ball from Finn. The batsman swings again, and misses again outside off-stump.

The victory is even closer now as Coulter-Nile mistimes a pull shot when Finn delivers a slower bouncer. Briggs steadies himself to take a good catch inside the circle at fine-leg. Ahmed is the final batsman to come to the crease.

Johnson is on strike for the final ball of Finn's over but he fails to make contact with a wild swing outside off-stump. Finn ends with figures of 1-30. One over left in the game. Australia need 34.

Ahmed gets off strike with a single at the start of Dernbach's over. Johnson lofts a slower ball to long-on for one. Close! They think it's all over...but it isn't. Morgan takes a catch on the off-side and the fans begin to cheer. However, Ahmed's shot came off a high full-toss and the umpire signals a no-ball. Johnson adds another run before Dernbach beats Ahmed with a good short delivery. Ahmed nudges the final ball of the over into the leg-side for a single.

It's been a great effort from England after being taken apart by Finch on Thursday evening. In truth, only one side showed up today. Hales was excellent with the bat in his hand and Dernbach once again proved why the selectors keep fait with him. The series ends 1-1.

I know you've enjoyed the T20 but don't fear, cricket is never far away during the English summer. You can join me on Tuesday at 10am when England face Ireland ahead of the ODI series against Australia.

That's all from me today though. England were in fine form today and a drawn series is certainly the correct result. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodnight.