England entered this World Cup as favourites following a stellar couple of years of build up, but at the time of writing England will be a little disappointed with their start, especially after the defeat to Sri Lanka.
However, they should still feel confident of progressing to the knock out stages. It feels like a slightly strange format to this World Cup, especially following the enduring appeal of the Champions Trophy; the round robin nature to be honest has the potential for tedium and I’m not sure whether it showcases cricket in the best way, purely because it results in such a lengthy tournament.
In spite of defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, England have the longest and most explosive batting line up in the competition and they will be encouraged by how close Afghanistan pushed India in their match last week. By the time this reaches inboxes we will have played Australia and a win will put minds at rest in the England dressing room.
There is no doubt that Jofra Archer’s selection has paid off, and his inclusion in the side seems to have had a really positive effect on Mark Wood, whose pace has got the best of so many batsmen already.
England are without Jason Roy whose contribution has been positive overall and I think he stands a strong chance of selection for the Ashes later this summer.
Here’s hoping for an explosive display against the Aussies at Lord’s – goodness knows it would be great to get a strong performance and result in there before the Ashes test which we usually struggle with so much!
Tractor