A far cry from his famous 5-0 Ashes predictions, Glenn McGrath has backed England as favourites to lift the 2019 World Cup.
While McGrath praised the current line-up, the former paceman did manage a sly dig, warning the old enemy against peaking too early.
The improvement England have shown in the last three years in terms of body language, approach, batting and fielding is a remarkable turnaround after failing to progress from the group stage in 2015.
Since the last World Cup, England have beaten Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan at home, while reaching the final of the 2016 T20 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy.
It was already clear from the time Andrew Strauss took over as Director of ECB and Trevor Bayliss as head coach, the white ball formats were the target for England, with one eye on their home World Cup in 2019. It started with a clear distinction between long and short-form team selections.
James Anderson, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad were shown the door in limited overs and exciting talents like Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid and Sam Billings made their way into the team. Since then, the team has gone from strength to strength, which was evident when the Poms posted a world record ODI total of 444-3 against Pakistan last year.
With Joe Root free from the burden of captaincy and coming at no. 4 to hold the innings together, it provides the perfect launchpad for hitters at the top to go for all-out attack. Even when England were 8-5 in the fourth ODI against Australia recently, they were still on the attack against anything in their zone.
The fearless approach without looking at the reputation of bowlers or team is what makes them dangerous. A lot of credit has to go to Eoin Morgan for instilling the confidence he has and what a turnaround it has been.
(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
But the question remains: Is England peaking too early?
The team is no doubt playing fearless and fantastic cricket at the moment. But cricket is a funny game. Can the team have the same personnel in top form going into the World Cup the next year? The big challenge lies in maintaining the same form and getting better with each game.
Can the young guns handle the nerves of playing in front of big crowds on the big stage? Will Ben Stokes’ inclusion in the team be a distraction? Can Eoin Morgan and co handle the tag of World Cup favourites? How will they cope in case of some losses against a strong unit like India when they tour the UK this summer?
As Trevor Bayliss rightly said, it starts with England believing they’re the favourites. In every match and every situation, England have to believe that they can handle the crunch moments. This way they’ll get better at holding their nerves.
Every big moment over the next 12 months should serve as practice for the pressure they’ll face in the World Cup next year. But the key to it all is belief.
At the moment England have got plenty of that. It’s not just 11 players on the field who are doing the job but 14, 15, 16 as well. Consider that someone like Sam Billings is sitting out, or that Ben Stokes is still yet to return. Even someone like the dangerous David Willey is struggling to find a place in the eleven, owing to the current depth they have in the squad.
England no doubt are peaking and getting better with each passing day but their belief and backing by team management and the captain is what has made the team so strong. If they are to go all the way in the World Cup, the same belief has to be kept.
Stranger things do happen – like Pakistan winning the Champions Trophy in 2017 after barely qualifying, or Bangladesh knocking off India.
Cricket is a game of uncertainty but these days home advantage completely tilts the balance in one team’s favour. As the old adage goes, fortune favours the brave, and this rejuvenated England team certainly have shown how brave they are.
If they do lift the trophy in 2019, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
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