Captain Morgan has it just right

YOU couldn’t ask for better preparation leading into a World Cup than winning a series 4-0 and putting in the kind of performances that England have against Pakistan. There have been good contributions from pretty much everyone involved and one of the really important things for me is that the captain Eoin Morgan is in really fine form. Over the last year or so he has been phenomenal for England and his longer-term statistics are impressive, too. Since returning from the 2015 World Cup in Australia, only Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Joe Root have scored a greater volume of oneday international runs. Think about how England are heading into this World Cup, and compare it to how they entered the last one, and they are chalk and cheese. They have done everything possible, not just in the batting, but in their fielding, and as a bowling unit. Yes, Pakistan have scored some runs throughout but there have been some bloomin’ flat pitches. As a group, they couldn’t have done any more, which makes the cut for the final places in the squad tough. What has been impressive is how those with the axe hovering over them have not frozen or gone conservative in their approach. None of these guys have played for themselves. That’s not something this new breed under Morgan and Trevor Bayliss do. Everyone has continued to take the no-fear approach to their cricket and for that reason I think there will be a genuine feeling of sympathy for whoever misses out. Even at this late stage, they’re still finding players like Tom Curran putting in cameos with bat and ball, while Chris Woakes is taking wickets with the new ball. Whichever way they go on selection, they will have 15 individuals who are in the perfect place to win the World Cup. They have to make sure when they get to those key matches, the crunch situations, they don’t slip into bad habits.

I don’t think they will. Under Morgan and Bayliss they have adopted a go-for-it attitude and taking the right option at the right time is second nature to them. They have fine cricketers throughout, they have added to their quality with the inclusion of Jofra Archer, and possess balance in the squad. One thing for certain is that we are set for a run-fest. We are not going to be seeing totals of 250, 260, 270. Everything is going to be 300-plus. I’ve heard people say that it is a concern that the opposition keep getting totals of 300 to 360. England — because it’s at home and they have experienced so many high-scoring matches for two or three years — won’t be intimidated when they get into tournament mode. Morgan’s team are ready for the challenge of becoming the first men’s side from England to win a global 50-over trophy.