Cricket World Cup team guide: England in the spotlight

England are bidding to become only the third team after the West Indies and Australia to retain the Cricket World Cup after their maiden triumph in 2019.

Eoin Morgan lifted the trophy at Lord's after beating New Zealand in a final widely regarded as one of the greatest 50-over matches ever played.

England go into this year's tournament in India as a slightly less settled unit compared to four years ago and they are only fifth in the ICC men's ODI team rankings.

But with Test captain Ben Stokes back in the fold and fresh from hitting a record-breaking 182 against New Zealand at The Oval, the holders are still a force to be reckoned with.

Squad

England's 15-player World Cup squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

The major talking point from England's squad announcement was Brook's inclusion at the expense of 2019 hero Jason Roy, who missed the whole of last month's 3-1 series victory over New Zealand after suffering a series of back spasms.

Fixtures

October 5, 9.30am: New Zealand (Ahmedabad)

October 10, 6am: Bangladesh (Dharamshala)

October 15, 9.30am: Afghanistan (Dehli)

October 21, 9.30am: South Africa (Mumbai)

October 26, 9.30am: Sri Lanka (Bengaluru)

October 29, 8.30am: India (Lucknow)

November 4, 8.30am: Australia (Ahmedabad)

November 8, 8.30am: Netherlands (Pune)

November 11, 8.30am: Pakistan (Kolkata)

The skipper

Jos Buttler took the England captaincy in June 2022 just a few days after Morgan announced his international retirement.

The wicketkeeper-batsman is an exceptional white-ball player and also has bags of experience playing in the sub-continent following his exploits in the Indian Premier League.

Buttler has already proven himself to be a top-class leader too, having guided England to glory at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia last November and the Manchester Originals to the final of The Hundred this year.

The 33-year-old has scored 4,823 runs and hit 11 centuries in ODIs, all while holding the third-best strike rate in the format's history (118.00).

Buttler's highest score came in June 2022 when he smashed 162 not out off just 70 balls against the Netherlands as England tallied a world-record score of 498-4.

Fourteen of his 162 career sixes came in that one innings and if the defending champions are to retain their crown, they will need their fearless captain at his boundary-hitting best.

One to watch: Gus Atkinson

Mark Wood's fitness is a concern going into the World Cup but England have added another lightning-quick bowler to their ranks in Surrey's Gus Atkinson.

The 25-year-old can hit upwards of 95mph when in full flow and possesses a beautiful right-arm action, similar to that of Jofra Archer.

Atkinson — who represented Islamabad United in the 2023 Pakistan Super League — has enjoyed something of a meteoric rise in the last 12 months and recently earned praise from Alastair Cook.

The former England one-day and Test captain said: "It doesn't look like it takes too much effort for him [Atkinson] to bowl quickly, so you would say there is probably a bit more in the tank.

"It looks easy but he is striving for as much pace as he can get. It looks like there is a bit more untapped pace.

"He also has raw skills to be able to move the ball — a bit like when I first saw Wood."