Published: Feb 19, 2019, 06:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 19, 2019, 06:39 PM (IST)
Can England win the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup? “Absolutely”., is what Sir Alastair Cook replied. And fair to say, England does have the numbers to back the recently retired Cook’s claims; for England are the No.1 ODI side in ICC rankings. (ALSO READ: Not to freeze in a knockout game will be key to England in World Cup: Nasser Hussain)
Furthermore Cook believes that each member of the England ODI squad are a match winners in their own right. (ALSO READ: London’s iconic Nelson’s Column kicks off 100-day countdown to World Cup)
“Everyone’s very settled and they’ve got matchwinners pretty much from one to 15,” Cook told AAP. “It’s such an exciting time for English one-day cricket, brilliantly led by Eoin Morgan and they’ve got a hell of a chance to win this World Cup.” (ALSO READ: World Cup Countdown: 1975 – Bishan Bedi’s 12-8-6-1 hands India their first ODI win)
One of the biggest talking points of the current England side is the fact that they can bat till the very end and Cook shared similar views.
“They’ve got the ability to get massive scores, they bat all the way down with people who can whack it out of the park, and then they’ve got some very skilful bowlers – the spin twins of Moeen (Ali) and (Adil) Rashid,” he said.
The 34-year-old also stated that one of the biggest mistakes of the past England side was that there were a lot of changes leading up to the marquee event, however, it would not be like that this time around and with England Cricket Board concentrating on one-day cricket in the recent years, there is a strong chance for England to claim their first ever World Cup.
“We’ve made massive mistakes leading up to series, like changing England’s formula just before the World Cup, over the last four World Cups we’ve had major changes in key positions. And this is not going to happen this time. Everyone is very clear on their roles, so that is exciting.
“They are picking a team of one-day specialists, they’ve got an exceptional leader in Eoin Morgan and, personally, 100 days out I think they are favourites to win this World Cup,” he said.
“I think they are a feared team throughout the world, especially the batting line-up. They might not be the brightest bunch sitting down doing an exam but they know their one-day cricket.
“I think since the disastrous World Cup in Australia, that sheet kind of got ripped up and they started picking proper one-day specialists and that’s why they are in the position they are in now. It’s the absolute difference,” he added.
