With a team brimming with all-rounders, hard-hitting batsmen, pacers who can bowl really quick and a useful spin attack, England have all bases covered in their bid to clinch their maiden title in the 50-over World Cup. But with all that also comes the pressure of expectation, something that English captain Eoin Morgan is aware of and hopes to handle it by sticking to the methods that have worked well for England in recent years, reports Cricbuzz.
"We always talk about why expectation is there. Expectation doesn't come out of hot air. We have scored some high scores, particularly at home and that's built a lot of confidence within the side. We certainly believe the expectation is there for a reason," said Morgan. "Obviously we've prepared pretty well but World Cup is a different kettle of fish. You still have to play against some of the best sides in the world, all the best teams in the world, to earn the right to get to the latter stages.
"Like every other side, we'll have to do that regardless of what has been before. Everything you've done, yes it does contribute - experience, performance, confidence going into the World Cup. But you still have to produce it then as well.
We're as best prepared as we possibly could be. We want the first game to be tomorrow. Get yourself into the tournament regardless of what happens. In many ways, you just want to play that first game.
Put your head on the pillow ahead of the first game knowing you've done everything possible to prepare your best before the tournament and to go out and do your best to give a good account of your country," said the England skipper.
"Compared to the previous tournaments, teams that we've had, it's a lot younger in terms of the names that we have on the team sheet.
With that comes exciting opportunities for younger players. We've got some experienced campaigners that have been to World Cups. But there's absolutely no guarantee that South Africa will come here and win the tournament. There are 10 high-quality teams," said du Plessis.