Captain Alastair Cook's miserable tour of Australia ended with a dramatic five-run defeat in the fifth one-day international in Adelaide.

England had appeared well set to chase down 217, on a slow wicket, only to suffer a ninth defeat in 10 games Down Under this winter.

Last man James Tredwell edged former Hampshire player Shane Watson behind with two balls left after he and Chris Jordan had been left needing eight from the final over.

Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes claimed three wickets apiece in a suffocating bowling performance that restricted Australia to their lowest score of the series.

England were on course at 154 for three following a half-century from Joe Root, but lost their last seven wickets for 59 runs to be bowled out for 212.

There was some drama at the end after Ravi Bopara was given out stumped by television umpire Kumar Dharmasena when Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade spilled a stumping chance onto the bails.

Replays showed Bopara's foot was in the air when the ball made contact with the stumps, although it appeared he may have recovered his ground when the bail fell off.

Cook will now fly back to England on Monday with just one win over Australia - in Perth on Friday - to show for three months of touring.

Victory for the hosts meant they won the series 4-1 and were able to celebrate victory on Australia Day.

Cook had initially appeared prepared to provide the grafting innings required on a tricky surface as he hit 39 from 62 balls before joining a host of other batsmen who succumbed to the wicket and were caught in the ring.

England's day had began sloppily when Aaron Finch was dropped twice in the first three overs.

The opener, who had twice made centuries this series, did not make England pay as Broad uprooted his off stump with a peach of an off-cutter.

Cook was at fault for the first drop when he reacted slowly to a sharp chance above his head at first slip off Chris Jordan.

Bopara then spilled the simplest of chances in the next over from Broad before England took four wickets in the first 20 overs.

That forced Australia into a rebuild for the majority of an innings that England's bowlers never allowed to find any flow.

George Bailey's 56 from 74 balls dug Australia out of bother at 64 for four, but when Stokes had him caught at mid-off Australia's tail was left to fight through the final overs.

England were in trouble early in their chase, falling to 29 for two, when Ian Bell and Stokes were caught in the ring trying to force the pace.

Cook appeared determined not to make the same mistake but when Nathan Coulter-Nile got a ball to hold up, the skipper pushed a low catch to Bailey at short cover.

Root took over Cook's diligence and with Eoin Morgan combined in a match-high 63-run stand.

But when they both fell in quick succession, England lurched from 154 for three into a much-visited crisis this winter.

Jos Buttler picked out deep square leg off Coulter-Nile, before Tim Bresnan was run out by a Glenn Maxwell direct hit.

Stuart Broad was bowled by Clint McKay and then Bopara's misfortune left it to the last pair, who were unable to finish the job.

Earlier, Australia had crawled along early on after Broad took two of the four early wickets to fall.

Bailey pieced together the rebuild first in a 48-run stand with Maxwell, who edged Stokes behind, and then a 55-run partnership with Matthew Wade.

But just as they would have looked to accelerate England removed both in the space of 12 balls.

Bailey dragged a drive to Broad at mid-on, who then bowled Wade behind his legs as he tried to make room.

Australia's late hitting was therefore left to their tail, and while Faulkner and Coulter-Nile tried to lift the tempo, they both perished consecutively to Jordan in the final over.

Faulkner was caught on the rope, trying to hit the first six of the innings, before Coulter-Nile was trapped in front.