England will reportedly rest star players James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann from the Carlton Mid one-day international series, beginning on January 12.
England reportedly rest stars for ODIs
The decision appears to be concerned with managing the players' workloads ahead of a gruelling 15 months, in the lead-up to the ICC World Cup at the beginning of 2015.
“This is going to be another month of tough cricket and then a heavy schedule from the West Indies tour onwards,” coach Andy Flower was reported as saying in The Guardian. “Straight after the T20 World Cup the IPL begins, and while that's on, the English season starts.
“Our players who play all three forms cannot play 12 months a year. Guys like Anderson and Pietersen are in their early 30s now, they are prize assets and we need to look after them. From a physical perspective they’re always dealing with various niggles and sometimes they need to be taken out of competition. That is not for them just to rest, it’s so we can maximise their skills when they do play.”
All three players have come under scrutiny at some point during a difficult opening two Tests for England, with Pietersen particularly criticised for appearing to lack the necessary hunger for the intense nature of the Ashes. Swann meanwhile, will be under pressure to retain his place in the side for the third Test in Perth, with the WACA Ground pitch expected to favour the pacemen.
According to the report, Stuart Broad, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Steve Finn, Boyd Rankin and Tim Bresnan are the six members of the Ashes party who will stay on for both the ODI and T20 series.