ADELAIDE, Dec 10:England will rest test regulars Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson and Graeme Swann from the five one-day internationals and three Twenty20s against Australia following the Ashes series.
Head coach Andy Flower was quoted by English media today as saying the omission of Pietersen, Anderson and Swann is designed to allow them to prepare for England’s busy playing schedule over the next 15 months leading up to the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
“Our players that play all three forms of the game cannot play constantly 12 months of the year,” Flower was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper. “Guys like Anderson and Pietersen are in their early 30s now and prized assets, and we need to look after our prized assets.
“From a physical perspective they are always dealing with various niggles and sometimes they need to be taken out of competition.”
Test captain Alastair Cook will lead the England ODI squad, with Stuart Broad again captaining the Twenty20 side. Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan will join the England squad for the short-form matches after the test series.
“We have an important period of limited overs cricket coming up with an ICC World T20 in Bangladesh in March and we are just over a year away from the ICC Cricket World Cup in New Zealand and Australia,” England selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.
“These two series against Australia allow valuable opportunities for players to push for places in both squads and given the rivalry between the sides both series will no doubt be keenly contested.”
Australia leads the five-match Ashes series 2-0 ahead of the third test starting Friday at Perth. England will play Australia in the ODI and T20 series in January and February.
ODI Squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Gary Balance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Tredwell.
T20 Squad: Stuart Broad (captain), Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Tredwell, Luke Wright. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel