England unchanged for Aussie challenge

England have stuck with the same squad that beat West Indies for the five-match one-day international series against Australia.

Alastair Cook's side claimed the one-day series 2-0 after the third and final match was washed out last Friday and they will head into the series with the Baggy Greens full of confidence. The hosts managed to cope without the retired Kevin Pietersen, with centuries by the skipper and the recalled Ian Bell, who justified the selectors' faith with excellent displays in both matches against Darren Sammy's men. But the upcoming series, which begins on Friday at Lord's, will prove a much sterner test as Michael Clarke's side is ranked as the best in the 50-over game and they possess a number of talented players in their ranks. While the men from Down Under might not be as strong as they have been, the likes of Shane Watson, David Hussey, David Warner and the captain himself are all capable of scoring heavily, while the attack is taking shape nicely. Teenage sensation Pat Cummins is now back from injury, with the experienced Brett Lee, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson on hand to guide him through. It looks set to be a cracking series and National selector Geoff Miller is well aware that his charges must be at the top of their game if they are to claim the spoils and continue their resurgence towards the next World Cup. "The series win against West Indies was pleasing and we are making steady progress in one-day cricket with a sixth straight series victory on home soil," he said. "Australia are a strong one-day side and I've no doubt this will be a challenging NatWest series for us and we will need to play some very good cricket over the next three weeks. "Playing against the number one ranked one-day side in the world is an excellent test for us as we look to keep steadily improving ahead of next summer's ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup." England squad: AN Cook (capt), JM Anderson, JM Bairstow, IR Bell, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, JW Dernbach, ST Finn, C Kieswetter, EJG Morgan, SR Patel, GP Swann, IJL Trott.