So the ashes are over, dare we look forward to the ODI's?

If England has any chance of gaining anything from the upcoming one day series in Australia, they have to approach it with a fresh start. This is easier said than done though. Announced today was the fact that England’s best bowler in the Test series, Stuart Broad, will be rested for the first two upcoming games. Fair enough, he did bowl far too many overs in the Ashes because England’s batsman failed so miserably. England will also be missing James Anderson who has flown home to give him a break, along with the controversial Kevin Pietersen; with Broad and Anderson gone this more than likely means that an inexperienced bowler will enter the equation. 

Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn and Chris Woakes offer the only experienced replacements, with only Bresnan having made an appearance in the test series. Bresnan failed though to impress and Andy Flower has insisted Finn still needs a lot of work. Despite this, Finn is tipped to start the bowling attack for England. It’s odd though, because I seem to remember Flower saying a couple of days ago and throughout the Ashes that Finn wasn't ready and was far from it. Hmm. Perhaps Flower is willing to take a gamble? Woakes as an all-rounder could be a decent (although not prolific) shout and youngster Chris Jordan could also be in for a place. 

Now I’m all for young Jordan getting his second cap, but he needs to be supported by at least two, if not three, solid experienced bowlers. This however is sadly not the case. England’s bowling attack looks to be led by a bowler who’s technique is letting him down (Finn), an out of form bowler who failed miserably in a test series (Bresnan) along with two all-rounder non specialist bowlers (Woakes and Stokes) Hardly puts the fear of God into the Australians does it? Even as a rarely flinching optimist this doesn’t make for good thought. 

This is a fresh start though and the England camp must approach the game with a fresh attitude. A few new faces and an injection of youthful energy could be exactly what England needs. Forget the test series. This is a second chance to go at Australia. The squad has new backroom staff in the likes of ODI coach Ashley Giles and Paul Downton (the newly made managing director) Such surroundings and different backroom staff must surely help create new mind-sets and help the squad forget the disastrous Test series. It is imperative England approach the game in a different manner.

As you may have gathered, I'm not confident we'll win the series. I am however, desperate to see some fight in this England side. Stokes aside, there was nobody in the Test side put up a consistent fight. There was no innings or spell of bowling that suggested England might win. Looking at the batting statistics alone, the fact that Australia’s lower order averaged more than our entire batting line up in the series says much about how poor we really were. It was without a doubt our batting that let us down, before the bowlers all but capitulated and gave in the fight. Our batsmen were terrified of a fired up Mitchell Johnson and lacked clear sensible heads or professional approach.

Good news for England comes in the fact that Mitchell Johnson is being rested for the first one dayer. This frees the England team of one its fears. Personally I thought Harris was the work horse of the Australian team, grinding away at the top order, bowling a solid line and length, keeping a steady economy and taking key wickets. Johnson for me merely mopped up the lower order and thus took a higher number of wickets. The Australian bowling attack, though not deadly, was pretty damn consistent and ground the English line up leaving no prisoners. One bowler being rested will not change that fact, but Mitchell’s absence may give some confidence as England did seem so terrified of him. 

Questions have also been raised about unrest in the England camp, which have typically (and quite rightly) been publicly denied.  Whether there is unrest or not I'm sure the team and staff will sort this out. Once again the subject of Kevin Pietersen has been raised. History repeating itself? I damn well hope not! The England camp wouldn't take that. I like to think they wouldn't anyway if they have any sense. Perhaps this is the reason Pietersen has returned home? Or am I reading into it too much? Perhaps Pietersen really needs a rest and return to Blighty? Either way, I trust the staffs judgement. I'm also rather pleased to see the back of Kevin, I'm not his biggest fan, but I'll save that for another blog.

What makes the situation interesting though, is what Matt Prior revealed to the media, criticizing the unprofessional approach England took. Prior highlighted how many in the squad lacked respect for captain Alastair Cook and Andy Flower. Apparently players would be late to meetings and wear inappropriate kits at training. Prior rightly didn’t name names. Now things like this may seem trivial, but actions and approaches like these can get to a team and damage a professional mentality, something that was certainly lacking in England’s play. The saying goes "Don’t air your dirty laundry in public" and although we don’t know the full story, it’s clear England had plenty of it.  

Let’s hope though, that with the fresh blood in the side and with the laundry hopefully aired, England can approach this series afresh. I don’t ask for much England, but please, make us proud. Even if we get whitewashed again, I want to be able to say we at least put up a damn good fight this time!