"You could pretty much name the squad now and you could never have said that before in previous World Cups. Everyone's very clear on their roles in the side."
Tuesday 19 February 2019 18:26, UK
Sir Alastair Cook believes England's 'exciting and dangerous' batting line-up gives the hosts a strong chance of a maiden World Cup success this summer.
Cook, who retired from international cricket last year, cited the absence of the hard-hitting Alex Hales from England's current ODI team as proof of the batting talent they have available.
The former England captain listed Joe Root and Jason Roy as key batsmen - although he feels all of their top eight are capable of making the difference when the tournament gets under way.
Speaking at Tuesday's event in Trafalgar Square to mark 100 days until the World Cup, Cook told Sky Sports News: "They're going to take the same batting line-up, with Hales as replacement - and then it's a case of who's out of form.
"Hales is a brilliant one-day player and he can't get in this side at the moment but, if there's an injury or someone's out of form, for him to step up shows the strength in depth of this squad.
"It's such an exciting batting line-up, held together by Joe Root - the glue, Mr Consistent - coming in at No 3 and all the fireworks happen around him.
"Any one of the top eight can score that match-winning hundred off 70 or 80 balls, which changes the game, and that's why it's such an exciting team to watch.
"With Roy at the top of the order and Jonny Bairstow and Hales waiting, it's an exciting and dangerous batting line-up.
"You could pretty much name the squad now and you could never have said that before in previous World Cups. Everyone's very clear on their roles in the side - they seem to have pretty much every base covered."
As the top-ranked ODI team in the world - and hosts - England will go into the World Cup as favourites for the first time, even though they have yet to lift the trophy.
But Test bowler James Anderson - who also attended Tuesday's event in London - says Eoin Morgan's side will benefit from their Champions Trophy experience of two years ago, when they reached the semi-finals on home turf.
"The pressure is slightly different," said Anderson. "You feel like there's more eyes on you than there might be normally, so there are different pressures that come with it.
"But we saw in the Champions Trophy that this England team can deal with that. They got to the semi-finals and they can use that experience of the knockout tournament to hopefully go one step further.
"England seem to have always been playing catch-up with the rest of the world. But at the minute England are setting the bar in one-day cricket and there's no real ceiling on how good this team can be."
You can watch every match of the 2019 ICC World Cup on Sky Sports Cricket - the tournament starts with England's match against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.
