Australia v England: Stuart Broad to miss first two ODI's as bowler is rested to allow recovery from Ashes series exerts
The left-arm bowler was one of very few shining lights in the Ashes whitewash defeat and will sit out the opening fixtures in Melbourne and Brisbane
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England will bid to put their Ashes whitewash behind them without the services of paceman Stuart Broad for the first two one-day internationals of their upcoming series against Australia.
Broad will be rested for the matches in Melbourne and Brisbane - as well as a tour game in Canberra in between - to allow him time to recover from the Test series, an England and Wales Cricket Board spokeswoman confirmed to Press Association Sport.
The 27-year-old was England's leading wicket-taker in the 5-0 defeat and one of the few tourists to finish the series in some credit.
With James Anderson having returned home for his scheduled break, and Graeme Swann retired, Broad's absence means England will initially rely on an inexperienced attack.
Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn are easily the most capped front-line seamers, although Finn's career has stalled of late due to an apparent case of the yips.
The right-armer was the only England quick who did not play in the Ashes and spent large parts of Friday's net session in consultation with coaches Ashley Giles and David Saker, as well as skipper Alastair Cook.
Any issues Finn might have will now likely have to be ironed out in combat with Australia, rather than in training, with no other quick in the squad boasting more than late call-up Chris Woakes' 13 England appearances.
It is a situation Eoin Morgan believes Finn can overcome, despite admitting he was given little chance to see how he had been progressing in Friday's training.
"I haven't seen very much of him. This has been our first training session as a squad," he said.
"I know Finny has been working really hard in the Test team and hopefully he'll make contributions along the way in the one-day series."
Morgan is one of seven new players to join the touring party for the one-day series, which begins at the MCG on Sunday.
The left-hander does not feel he has joined a squad divided, following the fall-out of the Ashes defeat.
"Absolutely not," he said.
"The guys are good. We've had six or seven fresh faces come into the side who have brought a lot of energy, including myself.
"The guys are chomping at the bit to get involved. We've had a bit of time off and young guys coming through are keen to score runs and take wickets.
"A lot of guys are excited to get this series started."
With the World Cup, to be held in this part of the world, just over a year away Morgan believes there is little chance of flagging attitudes in any case.
"There's about 400 days before the World Cup starts and it starts here in Melbourne," he said.
"It's really exciting and the platform we build here during this series is really important.
"It's important that we do learn from any mistakes that we do make, and build confidence down in this part of the world."
PA
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