[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

And so to the hosts, about whom there's little that hasn't already been said. Buoyed by home advantage, ranked number one in the world, playing one-day cricket more aggressively than any nation has ever done before, England will quite simply never have a better chance of lifting the World Cup than this. The ECB know it, and having seen what the triumph of England Women did for their profile, this summer is a hugely important opportunity for them to increase the interest in cricket and provide a launchpad for the deeply unpopular Hundred competition in 2020.

England have all the ingredients in a team that's been going from strength to strength in white-ball cricket since the World T20 in 2016. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are the fastest-scoring opening partnership in the history of ODIs; Joe Root is a solid anchor for the middle overs of an innings, while Morgan, Stokes, Moeen and especially Jos Buttler can come in and launch right from the first ball. The bowling attack has also continued to improve, with Jofra Archer seen by many as the last piece of the jigsaw. But injury fears hang like a cloud over the camp, as does the pressure of expectation and the nagging problems on used pitches that arguably killed England in the 2017 Champions Trophy. If they play as we know they can from start to finish, the World Cup is theirs to lose; but in reality, things never go so smoothly...

Highest World Cup total: 338 vs India (Bengaluru, 2011)
Lowest World Cup total: 93 vs Australia (Leeds, 1975)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Graham Gooch, 897 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Ian Botham, 30 wickets


Tournament Schedule: South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, India, New Zealand