With England regaining the Ashes and nothing more to gain apart from morale and respect from the fifth and final Test at The Oval, Australia must use the ODI series to restore some confidence and positivity.
Sure, with all the negativity surrounding the Ashes surrender it sounds easy to turn to the ODI series, however winning some cricket, regardless of the format, can only be a positive.
Just a couple of months ago they were unbeatable and went on to win the World Cup. Now is the chance to defend the crown and what could be better than against the new look English side in their own backyard.
The One-Day series can also shed light on some potential Test players, such as Joe Burns, James Pattinson and Ashton Agar.
Australia have performed well in One-Day matches that have been followed by Ashes series, both when the urn has been won and lost.
Prior to their loss in the 2005 Ashes away from home, the Australians managed to win the Tri-Series against England and Bangladesh.
In 2009, Australia again floundered away from home in the Test matches, losing the series 2-1, however they took some heart from dominating the 50-over series, winning six of the seven matches.
Back home in the summer of 2010-11, a shattering Ashes defeat – which included three defeats by an innings – still did not prevent the ODI series being won 6-1.
Over the course of back-to-back Ashes series in 2013-14, the Aussies won the series in England 2-1 and in Australia by a margin of 4-1.
Australian cricket seems to be at a low point right now, and the first step to ensuring some respectability is to win the fifth Test at The Oval, which shall be later followed by the ODI Series.
Given the performances of a few players in the India tour and the freshness of new blood in the Australian squad coupled with experienced ODI veterans, it seems the pain of Test cricket shall be avenged.
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