The England Cricket squad flew to Australia earlier this week to take part in the tri-series with Australia and India, which will start later today as a worm-up for the World Cup, to be played from 14 February - 29th March in Australia and New Zealand. Following the World Cup, the squad is to fly to the Caribbean for a three-Test tour in West Indies; if all goes to plans, the squad may only return back home in early May!
The England Cricket coach Peter Moores promised that England would play a more entertaining sort of cricket which would get the public excited about watching the team play.
The England squad that flew to Australia excludes former Captain Alastair Cook, 30, who was sacked by Moores and dropped from the team three weeks ago, after poor performance in the one-day- international (ODI) series against Sri Lanka last month. Sri Lanka trashed England 5-2 in the ODI.
Cook was replaced by Eoin Morgan, 29; the coach insists that replacing Cook with Morgan was the right call to give the team best chance at the World Cup. It also sent a message that no one in the team should be treated as a "prima donna" with an unopposed right to be in the squad, if they did not perform.
Overall, England have a poor record in one-day-international series and have won only four of their last 15 ODIs.
As for the performance in the World Cup which started in 1975 and since has been played ten times, England have never won but have been runners up on three occasions, last time in 1992.
Moores, 52, is however hopeful that he now has the right people in the squad and that England could potentially win the World Cup this time.
He is aware that this may be a turning point in England cricket, when the team has to demonstrate they could play mature cricket. Moores believes that the new captain, Morgan, a left-handed batsman, will bring a bolder strategy to matches, which will be full of aggressiveness and positive opportunities - this should hopefully result in more wins and should make cricket more exciting for the public to watch.
As for Alastair Cook? The left-handed opening batsman will have time this year to rethink his batting strategy, which made him one of the best England batsman of all times.
