Cricket World Cup: England looking to cement legacy with third white-ball title
"I feel like legacy is defined by others," said England captain Jos Buttler, ahead of a legacy-defining few months for his side.
England's limited-overs team are arguably one of the greatest white-ball outfits the game has ever seen but if they successfully defend their 50-over crown in India, there can surely be no argument.
Australia are the only men's side to have won three successive World Cups, capturing the 50-over version in 1999, 2003 and 2007. England are now aiming for a hat-trick of their own after ODI glory at home four years ago and then T20 triumph in Australia in 2022.
If they manage it, they will become the first team to win a 50-over World Cup away from home since Australia 16 years ago.
It is perhaps only fitting that England begin that bid against New Zealand, the side that they not only pipped by the "barest of margins" to win the 2019 World Cup but against whom this astonishing white-ball turnaround began back in June 2015 when they smashed 408-9 at Edgbaston in their first since ODI since an utterly dismal display at the World Cup earlier that year.
A 15-run defeat to Bangladesh in Adelaide confirmed England's group-stage exit but the nadir perhaps came a few games earlier when they were completely marmalised by New Zealand, limping to 123 all out in 33.2 overs before the Black Caps blazed past that total inside 13 overs as Brendon McCullum struck 77 from just 27 balls.
The now-England Test coach's 15 boundaries represented six more than the opposition managed in total, highlighting just how antiquated a style Eoin Morgan's men were playing.
But then came new adventurous players and a new aggressive philosophy. Then came Edgbaston as England topped 400 in an ODI for the first time. Then came the 2019 World Cup win. Then came T20 victory in 2022. The world-record ODI score has come three times. First 444, then 481, then 498. Is 500 next?
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England's build-up to their 50-over defence has not been entirely smooth with a renewed focus on Test cricket since McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge of that set-up often depriving Buttler of his best players.
However, the gang got back together to face New Zealand - yep, them again - in an ODI series at home last month, including the now-unretired Stokes. A 3-1 victory for the hosts underlined that they will take some stopping in India this October and November.
'England have all bases covered'
Morgan, now part of the Sky Sports punditry team after stepping down as England skipper last summer, believes the side he used to lead have "all bases covered", adding: "They have pace, spin and score a lot of runs very, very quickly."
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Let's deal with those in order, starting with pace.
That will be provided by Mark Wood and possibly Gus Atkinson, too, with the latter named in the squad as England continue to tread carefully with Jofra Archer following his lengthy spell on the sidelines with elbow and back problems.
Archer is travelling with the group in India but can only be added to the squad if one of his team-mates suffers a tournament-ending injury. Wood and Atkinson are England's quickest bowlers available, then, but there are solid options across the attack in the ever-reliable right-armer Chris Woakes and three left-armers in Sam Curran, Reece Topley and David Willey.
The spin will come through Adil Rashid's leggies and Moeen Ali's offies, plus the underrated Liam Livingstone's mixture of both. Livingstone will look to bowl wrist spin to take the ball away from right-handed batters and finger spin to turn it past the left-handers.
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As for the "scoring lots of runs very, very quickly bit", that remains a key component of this white-ball side, with the only changes to England's likely top six from the 2019 World Cup being Livingstone replacing the now-retired Morgan in the middle order and Dawid Malan ousting Jason Roy as opener after he sparkled against New Zealand last month while Roy sat out with back spasms.
Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Buttler and Stokes are still around, although Stokes could be rested for Thursday's match against New Zealand in Ahmedabad as he deals with a hip niggle. Harry Brook would surely step in if that were the case.
All being well, Malan and Root will be the players the more aggressive Bairstow, Buttler, Livingstone, Stokes, Brook, Moeen and Curran bat around, with Stokes also there to dig England out of any holes they may find themselves in, as he has done in the last two World Cup finals, against New Zealand at Lord's in 2019 and then versus Pakistan in last year's T20 showpiece at the MCG.
The Test captain will play as a specialist batter in the tournament as he protects his chronic left knee issue and excelled in that role against New Zealand at The Kia Oval in September when he smoked 182 from just 124 deliveries, including nine sixes.
Stokes' ability to play the situation, to know when to attack and when to sit in, is a further base England have covered. Another is the fact they know how to win big events. One more is that all of their players, bar Atkinson, have Indian Premier League experience, even if Malan and Root have spent more time chatting than batting during their IPL stints, managing just the four games between them.
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How will constant travel impact England?
So, where could things go wrong?
Well, travel is an issue. Buttler's boys do not have consecutive games at the same venue so will be flying around more than Michael Palin. The treadmill of play-plane-play-plane could be tricky for the bowlers, which is perhaps why the selectors named so many seamers in their squad. Expect rotation throughout the tournament.
Niggling fitness issues have also hampered the bowling group with Rashid missing the final three ODIs of the New Zealand series and Wood not having delivered a ball since the final Ashes Test in July before he took 1-9 from three overs in Monday's warm-up win over Bangladesh, a game in which Rashid bagged 2-27 from his five overs.
Root's form may be mildly concerning, too, with the batter recording three single-figure dismissals against New Zealand last month in addition to a torturous 29 from 40 balls in which he was dropped twice and looked horribly out of nick.
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England also do not have home advantage in this 50-over World Cup and recent history suggests that matters a great deal. India won on their patch in 2011.
Australia did likewise in 2015. England then made it three host-nation successes on the spin on that unforgettable Sunday afternoon at Lord's in July 2019.
With that in mind, India are the bookies' favourites. But England are among the leading fancies, certainly to make the semi-finals, and from there it is anyone's game.
England have won a World Cup at home and won a World Cup away from home. If they now win one in the subcontinent, it will cement their status as a white-ball side for the ages.
The goal is to get to Ahmedabad for the final on November 19 but first comes the tournament opener against New Zealand at the same venue on Thursday, with England hoping for a victory by more than the barest of margins.
Every game is live on Sky Sports and NOW, while there will be highlights on the Sky Sports Cricket channel, too.
Sky Sports News and skysports.com will bring you the latest from India over the course of the competition.
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You can follow live over-by-over blogs of all England games and selected other matches on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App, as well as news, reports, features and pundit analysis.
Watch the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup live in full on Sky Sports between October 5 and November 19. England face New Zealand in the tournament opener on Thursday (9am on air ahead of the first ball at 9.30am).
