“If we can get a win over there it will be a huge confidence boost for us”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

England pace bowler James Anderson believes that the national team will receive a much-needed boost prior to the 2015 World Cup if they manage to beat Sri Lanka in the upcoming seven-match ODI series.

England, who will tour Sri Lanka later this month, have not tasted a lot of success in ODIs over the past couple of months as they lost 3-2 to Sri Lanka and 3-1 to India during the summer.

“Hopefully we can gel as a team to give us some momentum going over to Australia in the new year,” Anderson told the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) website. “We are still a fairly young team, we have got some new guys that are still gelling and finding their feet in the team.

“We have got to help those guys along, as well as the senior guys finding some form as well, and I think it is all about momentum.

“If we can get a win over there it will be a huge confidence boost for us and we would certainly be able to enjoy our Christmas knowing we have got a series win under out belt. That will give us huge confidence.”

However, Anderson admitted that England might struggle to adapt to the conditions in Sri Lanka since the pitches there are a lot more spin-friendly.

“It is always a tough place to go,” Anderson added. “They are alien conditions for us and we need to get to grips with those conditions early in that trip for us to be able to do well.

“We have got a lot of guys who haven’t been there before, so the senior players will come into their own and pass on some advice. Some of us were involved in a series win over there a few years back.”

Anderson also lashed out at critics who believe that England have no chance whatsoever of winning the 2015 World Cup.

“We are going over there to win the World Cup,” he said. “I know people will scoff at that and people have written us off already, but we are quite happy to be underdogs.

“Hopefully we can go under the radar and surprise a few people when we get there.”