England struck by seamer crisis

England could find their seam bowling resources stretched to the limit as they prepare a side to take on India in Friday's first one-day international.

Ryan Sidebottom is out following his slow recovery from Achilles problems.

And fellow Nottinghamshire star Stuart Broad must come through a fitness test on Thursday after missing Tuesday's warm-up match with a sore knee.

England were flying north to Rajkot on Wednesday, no doubt keen to forget the 124-run thrashing they suffered against an inexperienced Mumbai XI on Tuesday.

Broad is ranked the fifth best bowler in world cricket in one-day internationals and would be expected to slot straight back into the side when fit.

Moores said: "We've got a versatile squad with a lot of all-rounders so we've got quite a lot of depth in bowling that we can call on, but we're very keen for Stuart to get fit.

"Ryan's a chance for the second ODI but we are conscious of not releasing him into competitive cricket too early."

If Broad is fit, England's selectors will have to make a decision on who to play out of all-rounders Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara. Neither has bowled on tour, and both failed with the bat in their only innings.

Meanwhile, team manager Phil Neale is to fly home to have knee surgery, but is expected to return in time for the Test series which begins on 11 December.

Security consultant Reg Dickason will take over his role as tour manager for the ODI series.

India are on a high after beating Australia 2-0 in a recent Test series, but their one-day squad includes eight players who did not play against Ricky Ponting's men.

Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been rested, and Moores said: "For us it's a bit of a bonus but they've got a lot of good depth of talent.

"The boys are very excited about taking on India. They got heavily beaten last time here [losing the 2006 series 5-1] and want to show how much they've matured as a team."

A punishing schedule takes in seven one-dayers, each at a different venue.