There was a moment at Thursday’s World Cup captain’s press conference that rather summed up England’s rise to the top of global one-day cricket.
Eoin Morgan was asked which player from another nation he would most like to add to his side for this summer’s campaign on home soil. No doubt many, if not all, of his predecessors as England skipper will have been asked similar questions on the eve of past tournaments, and given similar answers, along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t swap my boys for anyone’.
None of them, however, could have done so in a manner that contained almost as much truth as diplomacy. Even more telling was that as the same question passed down the line to other (more honest) captains, the names of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were thrown into the mix.
This, according to former bowler Phil Tufnell - part of the last England squad to reach a World Cup final - shows how times have changed since the calamitous group-stage exit of four years ago, and is why the hosts are favourites to lift the trophy at Lord’s come July 14.
“This is the first time that these sides are looking to England,” Tufnell tells Standard Sport. “They're saying 'Oh crikey, I hope we don't get Jos Buttler in form, I hope we don't get Jason Roy on form!'
“Listen, they've all got fabulous players, they can all get 350 or 400, bowl at the speed of light, but I think our little advantage is that a few people have said 'Corr, I wouldn't mind having a couple of the England boys'.
“We've got more of that fear factor than some of the other teams. That's the difference.”
While England’s bowling attack looks well-stocked, boosted by the arrival on the international scene of Jofra Archer – described as an ‘X-factor’ player by Indian captain Virat Kohli - it’s their batting line-up that has become the envy of the world.
A recent BBC poll placed four of the current top six – Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan and Buttler – in England’s greatest ever ODI side, and should the next seven weeks go to plan it’s hard to see how Jason Roy and possibly Ben Stokes wouldn’t join them.
In a World Cup where bat is expected to dominate ball, England will not be the only side with eyes on monstrous targets of 400-plus - but Tufnell believes few other countries have the firepower to reach such heights consistently, in a tournament that will take 11 games to win.
“A lot of the sides can [score 400],” Tufnell says. “They’ve got guys who can – it’s just that we’ve got more of them.
“We’ve got Roy, Bairstow, Root, we’ve got Moeen Ali, crikey, coming in at nine or something! They’ve got the Kohlis, the [Ishant] Sharmas, the Kane Williamsons, I just think we’ve got more.
“We’ve got six or seven hitters who can make that 400 chase, and they’ve got two or three.”
When England lost the 1992 final to Pakistan, few people, including Tufnell - who sat on the bench having been dropped after the group stage - thought fans in this country would still be waiting for their first global 50-over trophy 27 years later.
Wearing a kit which is a nod to that ’92 side – “I’ve got a couple of those in the loft somewhere,” Tufnell says – the feeling is that Morgan’s men can end more than a quarter of a century of hurt, and in doing so kickstart a summer that has the potential to be the biggest for English cricket since at least 2005, and possibly ever.
The data wizards at car manufacturer Nissan have even come up with an algorithm to measure the country’s excitement as part of their #SweepTheNation campaign, in the hope of charting the kind of buzz that accompanied Gareth Southgate’s footballing heroes on their own quest for World Cup glory twelve months ago.
In Pictures | New England kit for Cricket World Cup | 21/05/19
“It's cricket's chance,” Tufnell says. “What a summer, we've got the World Cup, we've got the Ashes. When the football was going well, everyone gets behind it. The great British public get behind their sides so if we get off to a great start it could be a phenomenal summer.
“We stand a great chance - good side, well prepared, well led by Eoin Morgan. A Cricket World Cup in your own back yard, with a team that can go and win it.”
Who then, would Tufnell add to that team, given the kind of hypothetical free reign Morgan himself rejected?
“Perhaps I might be looking at a bit of a mystery spinner to join Adil Rashid,” he says. “That's the only little thing I would even contemplate tweaking… unless there’s someone who can bowl 120mph, open the batting and bowl leg spin!”
Powering cricket with sunshine, Nissan ambassador Phil Tufnell visited Beddington CC to unveil the Nissan Energy Solar technology that has been installed to harness energy from the sun, to support the club’s sustainable energy generation and storage. Over 600 ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 tickets are up for grabs for fans – just tweet @NissanUK using #SweepTheNation.