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Eoin Morgan keeps World Cup hopes to himself despite England’s improvement

Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan, seen here with the trophy after England beat New Zealand to seal a sixth consecutive ODI series win, has not imagined himself lifting the World Cup in 2019. Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Eoin Morgan will not allow himself to visualise lifting the World Cup at Lord’s next summer but believes his England team will definitely be among the contenders if they continue their current improvement.

Fixtures for the 2019 tournament were announced on Thursday, with England’s campaign in the all-play-all, 10-team group stage starting against South Africa at the Oval on 30 May and playing at nine of the 11 host venues overall.

Morgan’s side have risen to No 3 in the ODI rankings after six consecutive series wins and have just enjoyed one of their best winters, with victories in Australia and New Zealand. But although confidence is high over the chances of breaking their duck at a 50-over global event, the captain will not get carried away.

“No, not at all,” Morgan replied when asked if he has imagined himself with the trophy come the end of the Lord’s final on 14 July. “We were in the final of the World T20 in Kolkata two years ago and despite playing great cricket up to that point, things can go against you.

“We’ll definitely give it a good crack. We improved this winter and learned along the way. We have a settled group of 18 players with various areas covered. Where we need to be to win this could be different in 12 months time, so we need to adapt and can’t be rigid or stuck with any formula.”

As well as that harrowing final‑over defeat in the 2016 World T20, Morgan’s side came unstuck last year in the Champions Trophy semi-final against the eventual winners Pakistan on a used surface at Cardiff. But there will be fresh pitches for next year’s World Cup semi‑finals at Edgbaston and Old Trafford.

Some 800,000 tickets will go on sale for the tournament, with children’s prices for the group-stage matches starting at £6, adults £16 and family tickets from £52. Prices for the final start at £95 for adults and rise to £395.

Pre-registration for tickets opens on Tuesday 1 May. A ballot for supporters groups starts on 8 May and the public ballot from 15 July. General sale and a platform for the resale of unwanted tickets then begins on 18 September.

As well as the World Cup, the International Cricket Council confirmed the Champions Trophy is no more, with the 2021 edition in India converted into a second World T20 in the space of two years. It comes when England have moved away from the format for their new competition from 2020 via the controversial new 100-ball concept.