England's shattered senior players will finally be given some time off when the squad travel to New Zealand for five T20s in October.
Those involved in the World Cup and Ashes, which have made for a gruelling summer, are set to be rested at the start of an eight-Test winter, with two in New Zealand, four in South Africa and two in Sri Lanka.
England won the World Cup but their focus will shift away from ODIs in favour of Tests and T20. There is a World T20 in Australia in 13 months.
The ECB believe that the next T20 series can serve the dual purpose of resting experienced players and blooding youngsters, such as Somerset’s Tom Banton and Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood.
England’s next batch of Test contracts will be more lucrative as a result, with Rory Burns and Jofra Archer in line to receive one. Those in line for a rest before a full-strength squad faces New Zealand in the Tests are long-form captain Joe Root and the summer’s stars Archer and Ben Stokes, as well as Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler. Root wants to continue playing T20 cricket but may reflect that he needs more time off.
Short-form skipper Eoin Morgan, who is yet to confirm that he is playing on but is due to soon, will lead the squad. He is set to sign a new contract with Middlesex but it seems likely that he has played his last Championship match for the county.
England put in another weary display as they looked to level the Ashes series here. Having been asked to bat first, they made 271 for eight on the first day, thanks to Buttler’s unbeaten 64, but gave away a strong position of 170 for three with a collapse of five for 52.
At the close of play, batsman Joe Denly dashed to be by his wife Stacy’s side as she gave birth to their second child, a daughter.
