“We can still win it”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

England captain Alastair Cook has announced that he is confident that he can lead the national team to World Cup glory next year.

However, he also noted that he would be utterly “devastated” if he was made to give up the captaincy prior to the start of the biggest 50-over tournament in the world.

“I’m hoping to carry on,” Cook told The Daily Mail. “Of course I’d be devastated if I stop now but if they think it’s the right decision for English cricket for me to go as one-day captain I’d have to accept it.

“Yes my game has had a tough 12 months but I think we saw signs of real improvement in the Test series and I was starting to get there in the one-day games.

“What has frustrated me is getting a lot of starts without going on. If you turn one of those 40s to a 120 things change very quickly. I’ve just got to keep working on my game because I know it will turn back in my favour. I just know my record suggests I’m good enough to play international cricket.”

Cook recently said that England’s chances of winning the 2015 World Cup were “far-fetched”. However, he seems to have changed his tune slightly as he now believes that his side can have a successful campaign.

But, he also admitted that the team have a lot of work to do after they were thrashed 3-1 in their recent five-match ODI series against India.

“The one-day series was a blow and it shows how much work we’ve got to do before the World Cup,” he said. “But absolutely we can still win it.

“You’ve got to peak at the right time to win a World Cup but it was a shock how badly we played in those first two or three games.

“I think we have a squad of about 20 to select from and we have a lot of work to do, initially as individuals in the two or three months up until Sri Lanka. The potential for growth is huge.”