2019 ICC World Cup: England one-day captain Eoin Morgan excited for tournament countdown
"To date, we've done a fantastic job, our performances have been pretty good. But, we still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be and be the best prepared for the World Cup"
Thursday 26 April 2018 17:56, UK
One-day captain Eoin Morgan says England’s planning for the 2019 ICC World Cup can begin in earnest now the official fixtures have been released.
The tournament - being hosted in England and Wales - gets underway on Thursday, May 30 as England host South Africa at The Oval.
Morgan's men are currently many bookmakers' favourites after winning their last six ODI series and nine of their last 10. The captain believes they still have room to improve though with a tough summer ahead.
"The countdown starts today," Morgan told Sky Sports News. "The majority of the games are going to be really tough and now, knowing the venues and the opposition, the planning gets more intricate.
"Conditions are going to play a factor as well - we will look into every circumstance we can foresee with the fixture list being released.
"It's down to the way we perform as a team as well. To date, we've done a fantastic job, our performances have been pretty good - we've had a really good winter, of which the cornerstone was the progression and consistency of our bowlers against two very good sides in Australia and New Zealand. But, we still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be and be the best prepared for the World Cup.
"This summer plays a big part of that. We're playing Australia and India - two very strong sides, who have proven pedigree in tournament formats; champions from the last two World Cups.
"The winter in Sri Lanka and the West Indies too, and the lead in to the tournament against Pakistan next year are all going to be crucial."
The format for next year's tournament reverts back to a group stage round-robin for the first time since the 1992 World Cup. All 10 teams will play each other once, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
England's nine games will be played at nine different venues, with a particularly tricky looking finish which sees them play Australia at Lord's, India at Edgbaston and New Zealand at the Emirates Riverside in their final three fixtures. The London Stadium was touted as a possible venue to host cricket for the first time, but will not stage any games.
Morgan is a fan of both the new tournament format, and England's games being played all round the country.
"I think it's a really tough format, in which it gives every team the opportunity to vie for those top four positions for the semi-finals," added Morgan. "It also gives you a second chance; if you do come up against a team on a bit of a run, you can still find a way to get through to the next stage, as opposed to in a four-team group.
"I think it's a real plus we get to play all round the country - that is part of growing the game with a big tournament.
"Having personally experienced a game in Dublin between the West Indies and Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup, I know it had a huge impact on my outlook on my future.
"The prospect of playing in front of 60,000 at the London Stadium is great, but also there is an element of unpredictability of playing on a new pitch in a stadium where we have no proven form. So I'm not that disappointed, if I'm honest."
Sky Sports' Mark Butcher subscribes to the theory that Morgan and England have a good chance to win the World Cup for the first time.
"This far out, England are favourites to win it," said Butcher. "The last time England hosted a World Cup, in 1999, they were knocked out of the tournament before the official song was released, so things are looking a lot different in terms of the team's form and pedigree in 50-over cricket.
"They should be exceptionally well equipped - I don't think I have seen an England team play better 50-over cricket at any point since the start of that format. This team is very talented.
"There will be pressure as hosts but perhaps not anywhere near as much as there might be if they were going away from home with very little form and continuity in team selection and a new captain on the eve of the tournament, as was the case in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. I don't expect any of those things to befall England."
England's 2019 World Cup fixtures:
v South Africa (May 30, The Oval)
v Pakistan (June 3, Trent Bridge)
v Bangladesh (June 8, Cardiff)
v Windies (June 14, The Ageas Bowl)
v Afghanistan (June 18, Old Trafford)
v Sri Lanka (June 21 Headingley)
v Australia (June 25, Lord's)
v India (June 30, Edgbaston)
v New Zealand (July 3, Durham)
