England will use a second-string bowling attack during the Twenty20 section of their upcoming tour to Australia in a bid to keep their Test artillery fresh for Stephen Fleming’s debut series in South Africa in December.In a first sign of how England’s job share between Fleming and limited-overs coach Brendon McCullum will work, plans have been drawn up to rest Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson from the five T20 matches Down Under.Although the trio will travel to Australia for the three one-day internationals taking place between 13-18 November – a year out from the World Cup in southern Africa – they are likely to be offered a period of rest before hooking up for an official warm-up fixture between 9-11 December, ahead of three Tests in South Africa.It would mean Sonny Baker, Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton taking on greater seniority for a team that returned to the top of the Twenty20 rankings in completing a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday.’Right through the schedule we will look at what the priorities are and how we are able to manage the key players and personnel so that English cricket has the best opportunity to succeed in those times,’ McCullum said, of trying to balance resources leading up to next summer’s Ashes and the World Cup.’How do we make sure we have got the best players available for that stuff? We will see, probably the fast bowlers in particular given a bit of a freshen up leading into that Test series, so therefore the T20s may be an area where we can introduce some new talent, which will be important for us as well, to keep growing our talent base in that space. Plans have been drawn up to rest Jofra Archer (left) and Gus Atkinson (right) from the five T20 matches down under It is a first sign of how England’s job share between England’s new Test coach Stephen Fleming (right) and limited-overs coach Brendon McCullum (left) will work’We will work it out. We will do what we think is right to ensure everyone has the best opportunity to succeed and that will include, at times, having to sit guys out.’Despite McCullum’s talk of drafting in new talent, 38-year-old Richard Gleeson remains amongst the most effective English pacemen in the shortest format while Brydon Carse, 31, also enjoyed a good Hundred competition. His availability will depend on the outcome of a Cricket Regulator probe into a late night incident in Derby last month.Meanwhile, Baker, who at 23 is at the other end of the career spectrum, took the man-of-the-match award in Manchester after completing a series analysis of 11.5-2-44-6 and was ‘walking a foot taller on the back of it,’ according to McCullum.England will now focus on moving further up the one-day standings by winning a three-match ODI series versus the Sri Lankans starting in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday. Harry Brook’s team are currently seventh, one place behind their opponents.Fleming marked his unveiling as England coach on Saturday by setting himself the goal of toppling Australia as the world’s No 1 Test team.Speaking at Emirates Old Trafford, the 53-year-old nominated emulating the unique achievement of Andy Flower in taking an England team to the summit – staying there for 12 months from August 2011 – as the primary goal of a job he began with a tour of county cricket earlier this week.’I would love to be in charge of the No 1 Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration,’ Fleming said.’The marquee events – the Ashes – are something I can’t wait for. As a New Zealander, I have watched and loved the Ashes all my cricketing life, so to be part of that is an absolute highlight. I can’t wait for that.’ ‘I would love to be in charge of the No 1 Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration,’ Fleming saidThose five matches next June and July represent Fleming’s first home series in charge, and he will hope to have narrowed the 24-point chasm by then between the Australians and an England side currently languishing in mid-table – the 3-0 whitewash of a poor Pakistan earlier this month, overseen by captain Joe Root and interim head coach Marcus Trescothick representing a first series win since 2024.Fleming’s family and business commitments meant he was slow out of the blocks, after being appointed in July and some will even argue it’s a false start, as he will honour his contractual obligations as a commentator with Sky in his homeland for four T20 matches between New Zealand and India next month before heading to South Africa for his first assignment this December.As a coach it is T20 that he is associated with, following 18 years in charge of Chennai Super Kings at the Indian Premier League, but he was ‘kissing coaches’ heads’ at four County Championship fixtures this week, reacquainting himself with the English domestic game, having captained Nottinghamshire to the title in 2005, and was quick to remind people of his influence on New Zealand’s cricket as a player.’My DNA was based on Test cricket. I am inherently a red ball lover, and that was where I learned strategy, leadership, captaincy, the nuances of the game,’ he said.’If anything, I moulded myself into the white ball world based on man management and strategy and leadership.’One of the relationships he developed at Chennai was with Ben Stokes, and although the pair caught up at Chester-le-Street on Thursday, Fleming was quick to dismantle suggestions of England’s ex-captain launching a sensational comeback against Australia next summer.’My view – when a player decides to retire it’s a big decision and I have the utmost respect for that decision so that’s where it sits,’ he said.Stokes was, however, along with Fleming’s compatriot and close friend McCullum, the subject of praise for creating a template for Test cricket in this country to which he will look to add pragmatism.Of comparisons in style to McCullum, Fleming said: ‘I’ll bet on the favourite and he’ll bet on the longest odds possible.’Adding: ‘It depends which timeline you want to talk about but for me, the way they changed the nature of Test cricket was quite remarkable. I have a huge amount of respect for the courage that took. Obviously the last 12 months it hasn’t evolved as they would have liked, or the fans would have liked, but as a lover of cricket I was very impressed with how the team went about it.’Among the changes Fleming says he would like to instill, creating a new ‘identity’ for the team, is greater discipline both on and off the field, vowing to bowl overs quicker in a bid to avoid World Test Championship points penalties and improve image following a spate of alcohol-related incidents.Unable to comment on the news that Carse has avoided charges following a police investigation into a Derby nightclub incident due to an ongoing secondary probe by the Cricket Regulator, Fleming did offer guidance on the conduct he expects within the squad he inherits.’If you want an example, a great example of how to behave as an international cricketer, Joe Root is it,’ he said.