PERTH: England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has called for one-day internationals to be played before Test matches on future tours.Speaking on the eve of his weary team's final match of a marathon Ashes tour that has lasted over three months, Strauss said the seven-game one-day series had taken a heavy toll on his side, which has to regroup for the World Cup later this month.
The English trail 5-1 in the ODI series, with the final match to be played at the WACA Ground in Perth on Sunday.They go into the game with six players, including five members of their 15-man World Cup squad, unavailable due to injury.
Strauss, who also believes the seven-match ODI series is too long, said he believed using one-dayers as preparation for Test cricket was better for both players and fans."Wherever possible I think that's a better way of doing it," he said. "I've been involved in a lot of tours where the one-dayers at the end have been hard work.
"Not just for us but the other teams as well. In some ways it's quite a good way to whet the appetite for the five-day matches coming up."That's something the administrators can look at and I think it makes for better cricket personally."
Paul Collingwood (back), spinner Graeme Swann (back) and seamers Tim Bresnan (calf) and Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) are all selected for the World Cup but already back in England, while Stuart Broad is with the squad but not ready to play after suffering a stomach strain during the Ashes.
Despite their injury woes and fatigue, Strauss believes his side can still use the final ODI to build momentum for the tournament."They (the injuries) are a bit of a setback, but it looks like the guys are going to be fit for the World Cup so in some ways it might be a bit of a blessing in disguise because they will be reasonably fresh," he said.
"I'm very optimistic about the World Cup even though it's obviously disappointing that we haven't done as well in this series as we would have liked."We are obviously very determined to win this last game to try to finish the tour on a high and then head (home) for a few days off before the World Cup, to go there feeling good about our prospects."
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