I am looking forward to seeing a few fresh changes on Saturday, said England coach Andy Flower.

England will attempt to turnaround a disastrous start to the NatWest Series without their two most experienced players after Paul Collingwood and James Anderson were granted rest periods.

Despite being 3-0 down, and needing to win all four remaining games, the hosts have opted to allow Collingwood and Anderson, fourth highest run scorer and wicket-taker for England in one-day internationals respectively, some time off.

Collingwood, Anderson rested

Both men, neither of whom have missed an England fixture since early February, have left the squad preparing for tomorrow's must-win match at Lord's.

Former captain Collingwood will return for the final match of the campaign at the Riverside next weekend while Anderson will join up with the squad again for the second of back-to-back day-nighters at Trent Bridge.

Traditionalists will no doubt be aghast that players could be rested against Australia, England's most fierce rivals in the sport, but the non-stop schedule and imminent Champions Trophy forced the England management to act or risk burnout.

"I can understand that sentiment, however, I think it is an exciting opportunity for a couple of other guys to step into those roles and do them well," said coach Andy Flower.

"I am looking forward to seeing a few fresh changes tomorrow.

"We make judgment on who needs the rest"

"We see these guys in the dressing room every day and we make the judgment on who needs the rest and who doesn't.

"They both need a rest, they are picking up physical niggles, they have been in the spotlight a long time and they need a break from that. "We also want them to come back into the squad before we get to the Champions Trophy."

England jet out to South Africa for that eight-team tournament on Monday, September 21.

Collingwood, 33, faced the prospect of a full 12 months without a meaningful break.

He has been engaged in international action since January 20 and is contractually obliged to make himself available for Delhi Daredevils in next month's Champions League.

That club tournament takes place during a three-and-a-half-week lull for England's players, who leave for the full tour of South Africa on November 1.

England will be boosted by the availability of Stuart Broad, who picked up a neck strain in the first match a week ago and has been rested since, and Joe Denly, who was injured playing football on the eve of the seven-match campaign.

Andrew Strauss' team face the threat of a 7-0 series whitewash, given their start and the strengthening of Australia by virtue of Ricky Ponting's return.

"We have plans on how to play ODI cricket"

But as Flower is quick to point out, England's struggles in limited-overs action are nothing new.

"We haven't had a good one-day side since 1992," he said. "They had a good one-day side then. So we have got to do something about it and that is part of my job.

"This group of players have got a great opportunity to perform in this series and in the Champions Trophy. It is very interesting for me to watch how things evolve.

"Yes, we have plans and theories on how to play one-day cricket - they aren't working at the moment, certainly on the batting side of things.

"We are investing a lot of time and thought into why one-day cricket in England isn't as good as it should be, and hasn't been for a long time - and how we are going to build a good one-day side."

One theory doing the rounds why England are under-performing with the bat is that the batsmen are failing because they are more intent on playing for their places than playing the situation.

"I disagree with that," said Flower. "We have a very strong ethos that the team comes first. That is not the reason for it.

"It would be fair to say we haven't got the balance between attack and defence right. That is one of the basics of batting.

"I don't think the guys have shown the necessary composure and that balance to structure an innings."