Australia tarnished its self-proclaimed standing as cricket's great entertainer on Sunday night when it manipulated the rules of another one-day tournament to suit itself.

The Australians rekindled memories of their infamous 1999 World Cup go-slow when crawling to a four-wicket victory against England at Adelaide Oval.

Already assured a berth in the tri series finals, Australia was seemingly set on meandering to its target from more than 40 overs and thereby giving England one bonus point on the competition table and entry to the finals.

The solitary point ensured England will be Australia's opponent in the finals, rather than the explosive Sri Lankans.

Even if Sri Lanka defeats Australia in Melbourne on Tuesday and gains a bonus point to draw level on points with England, it cannot make the finals because England has a better win-loss record in head-to-head matches with Sri Lanka.

Chasing England's meagre 152 all out from 48.3 overs, Australia would have denied England the point had it won within 40 overs.

But with slow hand claps and chants of "boring" resonating from a restless 26,045 crowd at Adelaide Oval, Australia showed little attacking intent and eventually achieved its target in 47.3 overs.

It's no wonder Australia wanted England in the finals.

The victory was Australia's 11th consecutive triumph against England in one-day matches, a winning streak that stretches almost four years.

But Australia's tactics almost backfired. After a tedious display from Michael Bevan (30 from 90 balls), a mid-order collapse of four wickets for eight runs gave England a glimmer of hope.

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