Injured Shahzad expected to be firing in time for World Cup

Shahzad underwent a scan in Sydney which revealed a minor tear in his hamstring and while he will miss the final two games of the already-lost series, he is expected to be fit in time for the World Cup.

The Yorkshireman will remain with the England squad in Australia to begin his rehabilitation but it is a further blow to England's World Cup attack.

Spinner Graeme Swann (back/knee) and Tim Bresnan (calf) were forced to leave the tour early last week while Stuart Broad is still recovering from the stomach injury he suffered during the Ashes.

All four are expected to be fit in time for the start of the World Cup, with Broad revealing yesterday that he is ahead of schedule in his bid to return.

Broad is hoping to get back after two months out of action for England's first warm-up match against Canada on February 16.

Fellow pace bowler Chris Tremlett was also ruled out of today's penultimate one-dayer in Sydney after he also had a scan on a side strain, although he was cleared of suffering a tear to a side injury.

The tall right-armer will be reassessed in the coming days and may be fit to return to action for the final game in Perth on Sunday.

"Shahzad has suffered the type of minor hamstring tear that requires at least eight days of rest, and as such he will be rested," said an England and Wales Cricket Board spokeswoman.

"He will remain with the England squad in Australia where he will be in the best position to begin his rehabilitation from the injury."

England's batsmen will be aiming to put a disappointing one-day international series behind them, and re-establish their dominance over Australia this winter, when they play the first of two dead rubbers in Sydney.

After conceding the seven-game series with a 51-run defeat in Brisbane on Wednesday, captain Andrew Strauss admitted that his batsmen had let the side down.

England have failed to find the consistency with the bat that marked their Ashes success earlier in the tour as they have been bowled out in all four defeats.

The tourists' only success arrived in Adelaide when a century from Jonathan Trott guided them to 299-8 – England's highest score against Australia on their soil.

Strauss has repeatedly lamented "soft dismissals" for his side's problems and with the World Cup looming large there is little time left to rectify the issue.

With that in mind, all-rounder Luke Wright admitted that England had plenty of incentive in the remaining two matches of the series as they aim to go to the sub-continent with some improved form under their belt.

"It has been a disappointing series, but no one knows that more than the batsmen – we want to put it right," he said.

"It showed in the one game we won, when Trotty went on and made a big hundred. That's what we did well in the Test matches, people got big hundreds and that's why we won the series.

"We've played outstandingly well in one-day cricket for two years now, so we're very disappointed to lose the series but we've still got a lot to look forward to.

"The next two games are very important for us going into the next World Cup. It's a massive confidence game and any momentum we can get going into that World Cup is going to be a help."