England will rest Test regulars Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson and Graeme Swann from the five-match ODI and three-match Twenty20 series against Australia following the Ashes.
Head coach Andy Flower was quoted by the English media on Tuesday 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 by The Guardian . “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.”
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.
England will play Australia in the ODI and T20 series in January and February next year.
The squads: ODIs: Alastair Cook (capt.), 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.
T20s: Broad (capt.), Bopara, Bresnan, Briggs, Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Morgan, Rankin, Root, Stokes, Tredwell, Luke Wright.
