Ian Bell
Ian Bell's place at the top of the England batting order has been cemented with a record score in Canberra Getty Images

Coach: Peter Moores

ICC World Ranking: 5

Squad: Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (WK), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.

Fixtures: Australia (14 February), New Zealand (20 February), Scotland (23 February), Sri Lanka (1 March), Bangladesh (9 March), Afghanistan (13 March)

Overview: England come into the World Cup with a plethora of changes in their side over the past year, leaving out former ODI captain Alastair Cook from the squad and passing on the baton to Eoin Morgan, which has been working well so far. The veteran batsman managed had only a single 50 in his last 22 innings, thus instigating the sack from the selection committee.

Moeen Ali has been a brilliant addition to the side both in batting and with his ability to spin the ball. Pitted with Ian Bell, they have a solid top order to give them some balance along with a reasonable middle order comprising the likes of Joe Root, James Taylor, Morgan, Gary Ballance and Jos Buttler.

Their bowling attack, comprising of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, if not the best in the tournament, but is enough to run through a defence single handedly on their day. However, the duo have not been able to recreate their magic in ODIs as much as they have done in Test cricket, something which needs to change if they have to progress in the tournament.

Ian Bell: The England opener has been in brilliant form coming into the tournament, amassing 247 runs at over a run a ball in the recently concluded tri-series involving India and Australia. His preparedness will be pivotal for England in the tournament, given the fact that he has to strengthen the middle order and give it a solid base to build on. And with Moeen Ali in fine form, this can be the final piece in the puzzle that England have been trying to address for over 40 years.

World Cup history: The original founders of the game have found it difficult to curtail the brilliance of other teams around them, having been part of each and every World Cup that has transpired since 1975. England have not managed to win a single world series in the 50 overs format and it has been over 20 years that they last reached the finals.

Prediction: England will join the likes of Sri Lanka and New Zealand as major underdogs in the Cup and their performance in the recently concluded tri-series holds much promise for the future.

England