STARS CAN’T REST

England have abandoned plans to rest senior players for the twoTest series in new Zealand this winter as they start to prioritise the ultimate format again.

So concerned have England become at their struggles in this year’s ashes they feel they must play their strongest team against the Kiwis in november to begin the long climb back towards the top of the Test rankings.

Instead, players who have featured throughout England’s busiest summer in both the World Cup and ashes will be given the Twenty20 series in new Zealand off even though there is a shortform World Cup to plan for in just over a year’s time.

ashley giles, England’s team director, admitted before the ashes that Test cricket would again top his list of priorities now his predecessor andrew Strauss’s white-ball master-plan has come to fruition with the 50-over World Cup triumph. That has given the two Tests against new Zealand, that will not even count towards the World Championship, added importance ahead of a hectic winter with four Tests in South africa that begin on Boxing day.

It looks certain Chris Silverwood, the current bowling coach, will be interim head coach in new Zealand as giles takes his time over recruiting a long-term successor to Trevor Bayliss, who will leave straight after the final Test at the Oval next week.

giles search is made harder by his insistence that the new person should be responsible for all three formats, with three assistant coaches working under them.

graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood are expected to be two of the three assistants.