Brook stresses the value of fitness on the road to CWC27

England and Harry Brook are entering the ODI series with Australia away from home after coming off a disappointing ODI Tri-Series performance against Pakistan and Sri Lanka taking only one victory from four games.  

England's recent stretch of matches has prompted Brook to reevaluate how his side approaches the upcoming fixtures with the ICC Cricket World Cup less than a year away.  

"Obviously, whether you win or lose isn't always there. You can never guarantee that, but the off-field... you can guarantee the off-field preparation can be a lot better. Brook stated about recent performances.  

"That can really help towards winning games." 

"With the World Cup 12 months away, it's a good period now to really start to try and nestle down, hone in on the skills and the lessons that we've learned,".

The England skipper stressed that becoming the "strongest and fittest" team will give his side the best chance to compete at the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.  

England’s most recent performance was their only win of the ODI Tri-Series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, defeating Sri Lanka by 55 runs on the back of elite displays from Ben Duckett going for 167 runs off 132 balls and Liam Dawson taking 4/49.  

Brook's side will look to install a repeat of their most-recent performance to set a better tone against Australia.

"The key thing is to try and be one of the fittest and strongest sides in the world, to be able to try and dominate throughout that competition (World Cup).

Brook provided updates on recent absentees from the squad, Adil Rashid and Jacob Bethell, who could potentially make a return and strengthen their chances Down Under.

"He's been training the last few days. He's good. He's bowling nicely," Brook noted about Adil Rashid.  

"The decisions to not play him have been typically conditions based. We felt that left-arm was more suitable to the conditions in Pakistan as we saw throughout the series generally." 

"That's a conversation for me and Baz [Brendon McCullum, England's white-ball head coach] to have down the line," Brook said when asked about Bethell’s return. 

"He's [Bethell] obviously just coming back from fitness now. He's a very good player and could be a very vital player for us moving forward."

Australia v England fixtures:

1st ODI: 13th November, Perth
2nd ODI: 15th November, Adelaide
3rd ODI: 18th November, Hobart