But the World Cup has been in England four times before and they have never gone on to lift the trophy.
And, of course, they are hosts again, meaning the conditions should suit their style of play and be familiar to their players.
Since Jonny Bairstow displaced Alex Hales at the top of the England batting order, he and Jason Roy have formed the most fearsome of opening partnerships.
They are the fastest in the world at reaching three figures (they average 75 and 83 balls respectively - 12 fewer than the next best, Shikhar Dhawan's 95 balls) and collectively, no other opening pair has scored more runs at the top of the order since 2018.
Of the likely opening partnerships at the World Cup, Bairstow and Roy top the list with an average of 58.7, just ahead of Pakistan pair Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq (57.7). The third best are India's Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who average 45 when opening together.
Batting
Three of the current England team (Jos Buttler, Bairstow and Roy) are in the top 10 for batsmen with the highest strike-rates in one-day history (minimum 1,000 runs).
And only Australia's Glenn Maxwell stands above Buttler, who averages 119.57 runs per 100 balls faced (Maxwell 121.95).
There is an argument for saying Buttler is better than Maxwell, however, since he has scored more runs in his career and at a much better average (41.54 to 33.33).
Crucially, he has scored eight centuries to Maxwell's one - the latest his 110 off 55 balls that demolished Pakistan in Southampton earlier this month.
To put Buttler's strike-rate of 119.57 in perspective, take a look at AB de Villiers, regarded as one of the most innovative and exhilarating batsmen of the past decade. His strike-rate? 101.09
Posted on May 29, 2019
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