Paul Collingwood hails Eoin Morgan as England’s special talent

While debutant Chris Woakes stole the limelight by holding his nerve to hit the winning run from the final ball, it was Morgan's composed 43 from 33 balls that formed the foundation of the chase.

The right-hander had spent the majority of the tour Down Under on the sidelines — he had faced just 17 balls in two months — but there was little sign of rustiness.

Morgan kept his side well ahead of the required rate in the middle overs and while his failure to see England home could be perceived as a product of his recent inactivity, it proved valuable enough to set up victory despite a late collapse.

"Morgs has been superb in Twenty20 and one-day cricket," said skipper Collingwood.

"We probably keep leaving it up to him a bit too much if we are honest but he showed his class again. He has been waiting in the wings and is very patient but when it comes to this form of the game he's a special talent."

Collingwood revealed that Graeme Swann was disappointed to see Woakes promoted above him in the batting order — until the 21-year-old hooked Shaun Tait for six after being sledged by the Australian.

"Graeme was a bit disappointed but as soon as he hit that six off Tait, Swanny just doffed his cap at [coach] Andy Flower and understood why he was behind him."

Kevin Pietersen hopes to raise more than £10,000 for the Queensland flood victims by auctioning equipment he used during the Ashes.

Pietersen has donated a signed bat, the shirt he wore when England claimed their 3-1 series victory and two tickets to England's one-day international in Perth on 6 February as well as flights and accommodation for the winning bidder.

Already the 10-day auction, which can be accessed via Pietersen's official website www.kevinpietersen.com, has attracted a maximum bid of £8,300.

He said: "I wanted to help in any small way that I could. I was there a month ago. We had a really good time but the pictures are just tragic."