Alastair Cook believes England can end decades of World Cup disappointment with a triumph on home soil this year. England have never won the men’s World Cup, but with 100 days to go until the start of the latest edition, a team captained by Eoin Morgan are top of the 50-over world rankings.

Former England skipper Cook, who retired from international cricket last year as the country’s highest Test run-scorer and most-capped player, said there were several reasons why Morgan’s men could go one better than the England teams that lost in the 1979, 1987 and 1992 finals.

“Everyone knows their role, they’re very comfortable in their role, they’ve got a lot of strength in depth, they seem to have a lot of options covered and they’re an exciting team to watch.

“They are a brilliant one-day side.” Cook never played in a World Cup, with the left-handed opening batsman dramatically dropped from the squad that then failed to beat a fellow Test nation while suffering a group-stage exit at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand.

But Cook said a change of attitude lay behind England’s rise up the one-day rankings since that dismal display. “Probably over the years we’ve really concentrated on Test cricket as a nation. Over the last three or four years we’ve really given the one-day cricket its due,” he said.

It was a point emphasised by former England spinner Graeme Swann, who said: “I just think England are picking the right team these days. “When they bat, people like Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, they think that 400 is feasible rather than an impossible dream. I think England have finally picked a very aggressive team as well, with Eoin Morgan, who’s a brilliant captain.

“The only world trophy I thought we had a genuine chance of winning was the World Twenty20 in the West Indies that we did, because we were ahead of the curve there.
“We picked a team of specialists, people like Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb and I think that’s what England have finally started doing in the one-day game as well.”