LEEDS, May 22: Surrey pair Adam Hollioake and Graham Thorpe rescued England after a shaky start today to give the home side a six-wicket victory over Australia in the first One-Day International at Headingley.

Hollioake, who was named man-of-the-match, ended the game with a mighty six over square-leg to finish with an unbeaten 66, his first international 50.Thorpe top-scored with 75, his 12th international half-century, as England, set 171 to win, reached their target in 40.1 of their 50 overs.

The left-hander was instrumental in overcoming the threat of Shane Warne, who switched ends twice but never settled down on a cold, dark Yorkshire day.

Warne spun some deliveries extravagantly but could not find a consistent length and Hollioake hit him for four and six off successive balls. Overall Warne conceded 46 from his 10 overs without taking a wicket.

Earlier, Darran Gough, back to his vibrant best, combined with Robert Croft to thwart Australia, who reached an inadequate 170 for eight from their 50 overs.

Gough dismissed captain Mark Taylor for seven and Greg Blewett for 28. Off-spinner Croft did not take a wicket but conceded only 16 runs from his 10 overs.

Michael Bevan, who has played for Yorkshire for the past two seasons, too scored with 30 for the Australians before he was run out.

Glenn McGrath bowled with menace and aggression as England slumped to 40 for four in reply, but Thorpe stood firm while Hollioake grew in confidence as England went to victory in the first of the three-match series.

AUSTRALIA: Mark Taylor c Stewart b Gough 7, Mark Waugh b Headley 11, Steve Waugh lbw Ealham 19, Michael Bevan run out 30, Greg Blewett b Gough 28, Michael Slater c & b Ealham 17, Ian Healy c Atherton b Hollioake 17, Shane Warne c Thorpe b Hollioake 4, Michael Kasprowicz not out 17, Jason Gillespie not out 3. Extras (7lb, 1nb, 9w) 17. Total (for eight wickets off 50 overs in 194 minutes): 170.

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-39, 3-43, 4-106, 5-106, 6-140, 7-140, 8-157.

bowling: DeFreitas 9-1-35-0 (4w), Gough 10-2-33-2, Ealham 8-3-21-2 (1w),

Headley 8-0-36-1 (1nb), Croft 10-1-16-0 (3w), Hollioake 5-0-22-2 (1w).

ENGLAND: Nick Knight lbw b McGrath 12, Michael Atherton c Healy b Kasprowicz 4, Alex Stewart lbw b McGrath 7, Graham Thorpe not out 75, Graham Lloyd run out 0, Adam Hollioake not out 66; Extras: (b1, w6, nb4) 11. Total: (for four wickets in 40.1 overs) 175

Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-20, 3-32, 4-40

Bowling: McGrath 10-2-34-2, Kasprowicz 7-0-27-1, Gillespie 8.1-1-39-0, Warne 10-0-46-0, M Waugh 2-0-16-0, Blewett 3-0-12-0.

Result: England won by six wickets.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.