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No batting for Eng during camp

London - England captain Alastair Cook has said his side have no batting practice planned for their upcoming four-day pre-Ashes training camp in Spain with new coach Trevor Bayliss.

Ashes-holders Australia launched their tour on Thursday with a conventional four-day warm-up fixture against Kent in Canterbury.

But with England having just finished a Test and one-day campaign at home to New Zealand, opener Cook said more nets were not the order of the day despite batting collapses against both the West Indies and New Zealand earlier this year.

Played a lot of cricket

England head to Spain for four days on Saturday, with one of the aims to introduce Australian coach Bayliss to the 14-man squad ahead of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff on July 8.

"(There will be) no batting in this camp," Cook told Sky Sports on Friday.

"All the guys have played a hell of a lot of cricket since the West Indies tour, even before that the guys (who played) at the World Cup had about a week off (between tours)," added the Test skipper controversially omitted from the global tournament.

"So the guys have played a lot of cricket...we don't need to constantly train; we don't lose it in two or three days of not picking up a bat.

"The Ashes summer is a really big summer and being refreshed and ready to go at the start of it is absolutely vital as well."

As for working with Bayliss, a former Sri Lanka coach, Cook said: "I actually just saw him about 20 minutes ago for the first time here at Lord's.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting him properly and that's how important Spain is for us as a side that we get to know Trevor and he gets to know us a little bit and we can start plotting the next seven or eight weeks together."

Sporting manner

Bayliss worked with Australia captain Michael Clarke, as well as Test batsmen David Warner and Steven Smith during his time in charge of state side New South Wales.

"Trevor's knowledge of cricket, but in particular of Australian cricket, is going to be second-to-none," added Cook.

"Absolutely we're going to try and use that to our advantage."

England drew a two-Test series with New Zealand 1-1 before taking the one-dayers 3-2 and concluding the Black Caps tour with victory in Tuesday's one-off Twenty20 at Manchester's Old Trafford.

All the England-New Zealand matches were also notable for the sporting manner in which they were played.

England paceman James Anderson said on Tuesday that now might be time to ditch the 'sledging' or verbal abuse of opposition players which has marred recent Ashes series.

Look in your eye

But Stuart Broad, Anderson's new-ball partner and something of a 'hate' figure during England's 5-0 thrashing in Australia in 2013/14, cast doubt on whether the cordial atmosphere that existed during the New Zealand tour could be replicated during the Ashes.

"Having had some decent experience of Ashes series, I'm not sure it will be as polite as the New Zealand series," Broad said.

"It's important against Australia you front up but you don't have to say anything, you just have to have that look in your eye that you have that presence on the field.

"That doesn't take away the fact that you can smile and enjoy your cricket."

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