Adil Rashid took his chance in the absence of Andrew Flintoff to prove he could be the long-term answer as England's all-rounder.
Australia won the first one-day international at The Brit Oval by four runs - but the very fact England got that close had a great deal to do with Rashid's influence with both the ball and the bat.
The Yorkshireman's leg-spin helped England limit Australia to five for 260, a score the Australian captain Michael Clarke felt was about 20 runs below par.
And Rashid then launched a late onslaught with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 31 from 23 balls, to revive England's hopes of victory after a middle order collapse.
Australia ultimately held on to win but Rashid's performance gives England heart heading into Sunday's clash at Lord's.
"I thought Adil Rashid was excellent, the way he bowled and the way he batted at the end," said England captain Andrew Strauss.
"We have always known Adil is a very talented individual both with the ball and the bat."
"Just recently for Yorkshire he has been putting in more consistent performances and he is starting to realise that talent."
"Today in a big game for him, I thought he was exceptional the way he bowled. Someone like Michael Clarke, who is a very good player of spin, struggled against him for a while."
"He has the capabilities to be a genuine all-rounder which is exciting."
"This is the start of his career. Luke Wright has just got back in the side. I like the talent on offer."
Clarke was equally impressed with Rashid and admitted to being slightly surprised not to have faced him during the Ashes after his performance against Australia for the England Lions.
"He bowled really well. I thought he might have played a part in the Test series," said Clarke.
"He is a wonderful player with plenty of talent and he has got a bright future. I couldn't seem to hit him for any runs."
Australia's target was eminently gettable on a slow pitch but none of England's batsmen could build the big innings required to see the side home.
Australia had been helped by an unbeaten 71 from Callum Ferguson and 53 from Cameron White, but no England batsman reached a half century.
Ravi Bopara was stumped for 49 and Owais Shah trod on his stumps for 40.
Luke Wright, who blasted a quickfire 38, and Rashid brought England back into the game but Australia held out for the victory.
"When you are chasing 260 you need one of your batters to go on and make a big score. None of our batters were able to do that," said Strauss.
"There were plenty of contributions but no-one made a sizeable enough one to tilt the game in our favour."
"If you want to win consistently one of your top four or five need to get hundreds more often than not."
"That is an area we are looking to address. We weren't able to do it. Hopefully we will be able to put that right on Sunday."