England captain Andrew Strauss admitted it felt like Groundhog Day as Australia took a 3-0 NatWest Series lead at the Rose Bowl.

Once again it was a failure by the batsmen to post significant scores which caused the damage, as they posted a modest 228 for nine in the day-nighter.

Only Strauss himself with 63 and Middlesex colleague Eoin Morgan, of the top order, played with any fluency on a slow surface.

Australian number three Cameron White, only in the position because of Ricky Ponting's rest period, then showed the hosts the way with a match-winning 105.

"It's feeling a bit like Groundhog Day with the batting, to be honest," said Strauss.

"It's mainly a confidence thing. The guys in the top six have earned the right to play for England and they are not bad players.

"I am as culpable as anyone in these first three games. I'm batting really well and when you're batting really well you need to make hay."

Landslide

Having won the Ashes, England are now in danger of suffering a landslide one-day series defeat.

But Strauss dismissed suggestions that his side have failed to lift themselves after claiming the summer's main prize.

"I would argue that's not the case," Strauss said. "We have five or six guys that played in the Ashes but that means we have five or six that didn't play in it.

"Every time you pull on an England shirt there's a chance to achieve something.

"We are not good enough as a one-day side to go easy.

"We have had three poor batting performances and it is disappointing to have three in a row.

"The one-day game is not one which you can grind it out to put things right because you have to go out with confidence to put a competitive score on the board."

Tricky target

Australia captain Michael Clarke, who contributed a dogged 52 to a third-wicket stand of 143 with White, admitted: "If they had scored 20 runs more I think that would have been a pretty tricky target to chase down on that pitch."

Ironically, this is likely to have been White's third and final innings at first-wicket down for a while, with Ponting primed for a return in the fourth match at Lord's on Saturday.

"I've really enjoyed batting up the order for Australia," said White, who had not scored a one-day international 50 prior to this series.

"Obviously I have done it with Victoria and a little bit in county cricket but it is something I haven't done a whole lot of. "It was nice to give myself a bit of time, assess the conditions and play."

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