ICC World Cup is all set to begin from May 30 in England where all the teams are playing warm-up games and ready to take on their opponents in the big event. The host, England is no less than the other teams. After a dismal performance in the 2015 edition of the World Cup where they failed to make it to the knockouts, they have come a long way in these past 4 years. They even won the five-match ODI series by 4-0 against Pakistan recently where the first game was abandoned. This England team are well prepared and one of the favourites in this tournament alongside India and Australia. Captain Eoin Morgan, however, is pretty much aware of the pressure of expectation.

“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,” he added.

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“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 captain.

The host will begin their campaign against South Africa on May 30 in Kennington Oval, London.