No one is guaranteed a place - Cook

Alastair Cook, England's ODI captain, has warned his team-mates that "no player is guaranteed a place in his side" as England prepare for the one-day series against India that starts on Saturday.

Kevin Pietersen is being rested for this series and reports emerged on Friday that he will not play for England until January - which would rule him out of the tour to India in October. Pietersen made just two ODI half-centuries in the previous two years but the England management insisted he had been rested, and not dropped, from the current series.

"Kevin's omission is part of our policy of monitoring the workload of players."' Cook told the Daily Mail. "He also has a wrist injury that has to be sorted out. It gives a fantastic opportunity for someone else at four, but Kevin is very much part of our one-day future."

Yet Cook told reporters, "There is no guarantee for anything, because we haven't had that selection meeting for India," and when asked if he would prefer someone like Pietersen in his side, Cook repeated "There's no guarantee for anything."

Pietersen's absence was an opportunity for Ben Stokes to come into the squad, though it is more likely that Ravi Bopara will feature down the order and Ian Bell be promoted. Unlike the Test arena, where Bell has made himself into one of the best in the world, he is yet to seal his spot in England's one-day team.