India-England Set to Begin World Cup Preparation

Bristol: England and India team begins World Cup preparation as England face India in first one-day international of five match ODI series at Bristol on Monday.

India went undefeated on their way to the Champions Trophy last year in England, but their ODI form away from home since the last World Cup has been less than satisfactory. On their last two tours, India failed to win a single ODI and tied one in New Zealand, and going by the 3-0 result three years ago in England (with another game tied), India have to address some familiar chinks - the opening combination, their death bowling and chasing targets.

Like in the Test series, England go into the one-dayers having lost their previous series to Sri Lanka during the beginning of the summer. Like India, England will also use these five matches to gauge their ODI bench strength leading into the World Cup next year. And like the Indians, Alastair Cook's side also gets fresher pairs of legs after what has been a long summer.

Along with ODI specialists, India have called in three uncapped players to shore up the squad in the lead-up to the World Cup. Friday's warm-up fixture against Middlesex didn't give any indication of their team combination as India used 11 batsmen and 11 bowlers.

Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the line with the ball with Mohit Sharma also in contention as the third seamer, but Dhoni's reluctance to use a fifth specialist bowler will make the selection more interesting.

The series defeat against Sri Lanka prompted England to make changes to their ODI squad against India, and Alex Hales' inclusion means Ian Bell could be relieved of his makeshift opening duties, dropping down into the middle order. Ravi Bopara was left out, dealing a blow to his chances of making it to Australia and New Zealand in 2015, which means Eoin Morgan will slip into the No. 6 role as the team's finisher, along with Jos Buttler at No. 7.

With Stuart Broad heading for a knee surgery, Chris Jordan, Harry Gurney or Steve Finn could fill up his place as James Anderson's new ball partner, while James Tredwell could take up the lone spinner's spot, a role that was taken up by Moeen Ali during the Test series.

Teams from

England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), Alex Hales, Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, James Anderson, James Tredwell, Harry Gurney, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson, Stuart Binny, Karn Sharma

Pitch & condition
As Bristol is a small ground, even miss-hits can end up in stands. However the weather can always play a part, while matches are held in England.

Stats & trivia

• England have lost three consecutive bilateral ODI series at home. The last time they won a home ODI series was against Australia in June 2012.
• Alastair Cook needs 33 more runs to amass 3,000 ODI runs.
• India have won a bilateral ODI series in England last time 1990.

Match facts
Monday August 25, 2014
Start time 1030 local (0930 GMT)