England will hope to improve in ODI series.

England's cricket team will want to move on swiftly from what was a torrid start to their United Arab Emirates tour if they are to make any impact in this series. Their performance against a Pakistan side ranked 4 places below them in the test world rankings was some what surprising but ultimately very disappointing. Having recently establishing themselves as the No.1 ranked side in the world after wins over Australia, Sri Lanka and a 4-0 drumming against India, England can be hugely embarrassed and some what humiliated by their 3-0 whitewash defeat in the tests. Some may argue that England are not used to the conditions of the subcontinent which fundamentally didn't help, but surely it is no excuse for the No.1 side in the world to not be able to go and win anywhere in the world. Their last two series wins came over Sri Lanka and India on home soil, but a team cannot justify their status if they can only do the business in their own country. England knocked India off their perch at the top of the table with that victory but India will be looking for revenge when the sides meet again later this year in India. England will need to nullify their mistakes and improve quickly if they are to be successful in that tour and will need to learn to beat the big teams abroad as well as at home. England seemed to struggle specifically with the slow pitches in the UAE and couldn't deal with the spin. They were tormented by splendid spin bowling from Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman who took 46 of their teams 60 wickets between them. The English batting department can be bitterly dissapointed with their well below par performances but at least the bowlers can go away with some sort of pride as they kept the Pakistan batsmen at bay for long periods of the games. In particular Stuart Broad and Monty Panesar who took two 5 wicket hauls looked in good touch.

England have rung in the changes for the one day games coming up, some because of the change of format but some purely because of poor performances in the tests. Ian Bell in particular had a miserable time against Pakistan. It is a shame because over recent years he has really proved himself as a top batsmen and cemented his place within the England test side. But after totalling a mere 51 runs side over 6 innings he has been dropped from the side. England coach Andy Flowers has quashed rumours that he will not play in the one day format again by saying if he works hard and plays well there is no reason why he can't force his way back into the team. Test captain Strauss has retired from one day games so he hands the reigns to ODI captain Alastair Cook. Cook has been England's stand out performer over the last year or so and England have come to rely on him heavily as his consistency has earned him several centuries. He struggled against Pakistan however although he did produce England's best batting display with a score of 96. Others batsmen who keep their place from the test side include Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan. KP still didn't look his best in the test's but showed some moments of magic and as one of England's big hitters he will hope he can make an impact at the top of the order having been promoted to opener. Trott was not on scintillating form but like Cook as one of England's most consistent performers over the last year he will hope to make a difference. Morgan on the other hand like Bell was on poor form but as a master of the one day game and a proven performer for England it that format he managed to keep his place. Ravi Bopara who was sub for the test has found his way into the side. Wicket-keeper prior looses his place though to Craig Kieswetter who is a proven big hitter in the one day and Twenty 20 formats. All rounder Samit Patel has also been recalled to the squad as has Tim Bresnan. Spin bowler Pansesar has lost his place so it looks like England will go with a 3 seam attack. Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Graham Swann keep their places and there are also call ups for Steven Finn, Johnny Bairstow, Danny Briggs, Jos Butler and Jade Dernbach to the 16 man squad.

England will play Pakistan in four ODI games followed by three T20s. The fixtures are as follows:

February

13 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi (d/n) (1100 GMT)

15 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi (d/n) (1100 GMT)

18 3rd ODI, Dubai (d/n) (1100 GMT)

21 4th ODI, Dubai (d/n) (1100 GMT)

23 1st Twenty20 international, Dubai (d/n) (1600 GMT)

25 2nd Twenty20 international, Dubai (d/n) (1600 GMT)

27 3rd Twenty20 international, Abu Dhabi (d/n) (1600 GMT)

England have already played one warm up match beating the England Lions in a slightly odd affair. The lions were bowled out for a low score of 96. The scoring was revised so England had a chase of 230. It was good to England's batsmen hitting some form as KP hit 41, Cook 68 and Trott was on 75 not out. There was also a sound 36 in there for Bopara and some pretty impressive bowling from Dernbach and Finn in particular who got 3 wickets apiece.

Pakistan also played one warm up match against an inexperienced Afghanistan side who were playing in their first ODI against an ICC Full member team. Afghanistan put up a pretty decent attempt but were eventually bowled out for 195. The pick of the bowlers was ex captain and one day specialist Shahid Afridi who took a 5 wicket haul but there was no joy for Saeed Ajmal, a good sign for England. Pakistan won the game by 7 wickets after an impressive batting display from its top order. Imran Farhat put on 52, Younis Kahn 70 and Misbah-ul-hak 40.

Both displays set up for what could be a mouth watering series between the two sides.