Cricket World Cup 2019: England preview, likely starting XI: Is this England’s year?

England are far removed from their last outfit that turned out in a World Cup. Following their shambles in 2015, England underwent a overhaul in both style and personnel, and are now on the precipice of achieving what would most likely go down as the country’s greatest achievement in sports history – winning a home World Cup.

The top-ranked ODI side have plenty of strengths, chief among them being the seemingly never-ending line-up of quality batsmen. The depth they possess is incredibly, right from the likes of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, who can take the game away from the opposition themselves if they’re in the mood, to the versatile Eoin Morgan, to the likes of Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer lower down.

However, they were worryingly lax in the Caribbean earlier this year, and have shown a tendency to collapse bizarrely every odd game. There are also question marks over their death-over performances – they have struggled to contain runs in the final phase of an innings, and this might be where  Archer’s arrival could provide a fillip.

All in all, a title-winning outfit.

Key players

Jos Buttler: Buttler’s ability to be utterly devastating with the bat will do wonders for England. He racks up centuries almost on wish, and his dynamism will play a big role in helping England either recover from tricky positions or simply dominate on the foundations built by the top order. Watch out for him.

Joe Root: England have sometimes shown a random tendency to collapse. But even when they don’t, the position and role fulfilled by Root is of supreme importance. He is the glue that holds the batting side of things together, with his unhurried, solid strokeplay, and how good a tournament he has will determine the course of England’s title pursuit.

Adil Rashid: Since the 2015 World Cup, no bowler has taken more wickets in ODIs than Rashid. The wily spinner will be key for England to breakthrough at times when the pacemen aren’t able to deliver. Rashid is quite an enforcer with the ball, and opposition will do well to watch out for him.

Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Likely XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Prediction

Champions – the top-ranked side in the world is expected to go on and win the trophy.