More than a final spot on the line in Perth

The right to play Australia in the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series final is one of several intriguing subplots to today's clash between India and England at the WACA Ground.

The unbeaten Aussies have already secured their place in Sunday's decider and the hosts will be further boosted by the return of pace ace Mitchell Johnson and possibly allrounder Shane Watson.

Johnson to return for Sunday's final

England thrashed India by nine wickets with more than 20 overs to spare when the two teams met in Brisbane last week and while India will be keen to avenge that loss, they will have to do it without Rohit Sharma, who is on the comeback trail from a hamstring niggle.

Sharma, who scored a century against Australia earlier this month, trained strongly on Thursday, but skipper MS Dhoni said the star batsman wouldn't be risked for Friday's match.

While Sharma is certain to return to the top of the order, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan faces an uphill battle to regain his form and hold his place in the side ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Dhawan has endured a forgettable tour to Australia, with the 29-year-old averaging just 17 across 11 knocks in Test, one-day and warm-up matches.

Dhawan falls cheaply at the MCG

But Dhoni is backing Dhawan to bounce back as early as today, saying only needs a solid 10 minutes in the middle to regain his magical touch.

"Form is something people don't really see - it's an abstract," Dhoni said.

"You can come into form and go out of form very quickly.

"You just have to spend that 10 to 12 minutes of quality time in the middle, and everything will fall into place.

"You play a couple of good shots, you hit the middle of your bat and you're back in good form.

"It's not like every cricketer goes through a patch where they keep scoring runs.

"What's important for him will be to be himself, and bat to his strength."

England have enjoyed a week-long break between games, giving the players plenty of time to unwind and get their mind off cricket.

The Australia Day fireworks proved to be a popular attraction, while rounds of golf and visits to Perth's beaches have also been on the itinerary.

England captain Eoin Morgan said learning how best to cope with lengthy breaks before important matches would prove critical ahead of the World Cup, which begins on February 14 and runs through to March 29.

"Having too much cricket on your mind can sometimes create an issue where you're going around in circles or you're thinking about something too much," Morgan said on Thursday.

"The less guys have to think about it, the better.

"And the more we can get used to time off going into the World Cup, it would be really useful.

"I mean we'll have stages like this throughout the World Cup that we'll need to get ourselves ready for.

"Our emphasis is going to be on match day and being as mentally and physically fit as we can to take on whoever it is."

England and Australia will open their World Cup campaigns against each other on February 14, and Morgan would love nothing more than to earn another crack at the hosts in the tri-series final.

"The opportunity to play Australia on Sunday is huge," he said.