England captain Eoin Morgan wants his side to embrace their chance to become heroes by lifting the World Cup on home soil. Morgan and company get the tournament under way against South Africa at the Oval on Thursday.
They go in ranked as world No 1 after four solid years on an upward trajectory and Morgan admits they have the chance to give their sport a once-in-a-lifetime lift over the next six weeks.
"It would mean a huge amount, the World Cup alone raises the profile of the game and is a platform for every young kid in this country to have a hero or have the inspiration to pick up a ball or a bat," he said.
"To go on and win it, I couldn't imagine what that would do."
After a series of injury scares over recent weeks, including his own dislocated finger, Morgan was happy to reveal that the entire squad go into the competition with a green light.
"I'm good and the team are very well. We've no injury concerns and we have a full bill of health for tomorrow," the Irishman added.
Asked if England were focused solely on getting a positive result or were just as eager to make a statement with the manner of their performance, Morgan was unequivocal. 'A win under any circumstances,' he said.
Morgan confirmed the 11 had been chosen but will not announce it until the toss. Ten places seem all-but certain, with Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood and Tom Curran seemingly vying for the last spot.
Morgan’s South African counterpart Faf du Plessis says his team must counter England's aggressive style of play with attacking cricket of their own.
South Africa will be without Dale Steyn, the veteran fast bowler, which Du Plessis said meant they "moved on to Plan B and C". The Proteas still boast a fearsome bowling attack and a classy batting unit.
"We are very excited. England are a tremendous team, they've shown that for the last 24 months by playing really good cricket," said du Plessis.
"England is team that plays very aggressively, we all know that. It's about how us finding how we can be most attacking and take wickets. There is no point in trying to play a defensive style of cricket against England, they can take any bowling attack on on its day. We will pick our team to be as positive as possible," the Proteas added.
While it is the huge expectation of winning the World Cup at home for Morgan, du Plessis is in a spot where he needs to keep the mood upbeat among his players. After all, it is the World Cup and everyone knows the weight of history on the shoulders of each and every South African player.
“For me, the focus on making sure that we can look at playing the style of cricket we want to do, and whether that guarantees success for some of the older guys or not, that’s not the focus. They are here to make sure that they enjoy every day as best as possible. I think when you get a little bit older, that becomes a little bit more natural. You take the pressure off. This is something I have to do or need to do to something that I love to do.”
Ever since their reintroduction to international cricket in 1992, not a World Cup has gone by where South African teams have not been spoken of highly. But from 1992 to 2015, their ending at the tournament has come in heart-breaking scenes.
Hopefully, an able leader in Faf du Plessis can ignite some spark in the Proteas camp to once and for all eradicate the tag of under-achievers.
from Sify.com
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