Poulton's 66 contained three towering sixes and helped her side to a challenging 142 for 5 which proved just enough of an edge in a useful warm-up.
Caroline Atkins and Katherine Brunt took England close to the target with a thrilling last-wicket partnership after their team had looked dead and buried on 92 for 9. England ended up only five runs short following the duo's battling and an earlier 42 from Claire Taylor.
Ellyse Perry dismissed three of the top four batsmen. She had Charlotte Edwards caught at deep gully for 1, Claire Taylor caught behind and then the catch of the day came when Lisa Sthalekar dived hard to take Beth Morgan's pull to midwicket.
Sthalekar also took three wickets as the spinners took hold and checked England's batsmen. The Australia bowlers kept up the pressure throughout and were backed up by tidy fielding. In contrast, England was guilty of unusual errors, including putting down Poulton on 28.
Karen Rolton brushed off the significance of Australia's win, instead emphasising the usefulness of the practice. "The result didn't really bother me," Rolton said. "We couldn't ask for a better hit-out going into Friday's second game against the Kiwis."
She was not concerned, either, about how England's last-wicket pairing came back at them late on. "To have a close one that comes down to the last couple of overs, I would rather that sort of hit-out than having an easier win."
England coach Mark Lane said he was disappointed with a couple of areas. "Our ground fielding wasn't too good, our middle order didn't perform as well as I wanted. But there were some solid performances.
"We've had such a successful time everyone wants to beat us. We have to make sure that we don't ever have a bad day. The fact we're playing more and more cricket means there are more opportunities to have a bad day. Today wasn't a bad day for us, it was an average day and we will get better."
Source: www.cricket.yahoo.com
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