England have raised World Cup expectations, now it is time to meet them

Of course, it rained. Of course, after weeks of dry weather, it started to rain the moment the World Cup launch party in the Mall was due to start. It didn't feel like the perfect omen.

There is an ingrained pessimism among regular supporters of England at World Cups. They have seen their side beaten like a snare drum around the world. Even now, with England rated as favourites for the tournament, there seems to be a reluctance to believe in case it makes the inevitable crash all the more painful.

But this is a different England team. They bat beyond the horizon, they have options with the ball and the emergence of Jofra Archer has given them the bite they were previously missing. They are settled, united and confident. It says much for their progress over the last four years that nobody would be surprised if they won. In 2015, it would have been a miracle of biblical proportions.

Yet whatever England have achieved in the last few years - the world record scores, the transformation from also-rans to pace-setters - it is global events that define teams' reputations. And success in global events that captures the imagination of new audiences. And, for now at least, no global cricketing event is bigger than the World Cup.

To put the enormity of England's task into context, they have not beaten India or Australia in a World Cup match this century. Indeed, they have not beaten either of them in this tournament since 1992. On only one other occasion, in 1979, have they beaten Australia in a World Cup game. History is not on their side.

There are some lingering concerns. The main one is England's ability to adapt to conditions which may favour the bowlers. We know their batsmen are murderous on flat wickets - Ottis Gibson referred to their batting "attack" in a Freudian slip in his press conference on Tuesday - but it is two years to the day since they succumbed to 20 for 6 within five overs of an ODI against South Africa on a green-looking surface at Lord's.

They have improved in this regard but, as we saw in St Lucia recently, there are still days - perhaps even semi-final days - when it falls apart in spectacular fashion. There may well be moments, especially with 10.30am starts, when they have to rein in their aggression just a little. The Oval surface for the opener against South Africa, for the first half-hour or so anyway, may present just such a challenge.

The pressure of expectation could also prove a factor. England may well have choked a little in the Champions Trophy final of 2013 and the semi-final of 2017 - to be fair, they also came up against Pakistan on a good day - and it could be that the burden of carrying the hopes of a nation (and a national governing body) starts to weigh heavily. Each of the players knows this could be the defining moment in their careers; stage-fright has to be a possibility. Especially if this tough first game, against the No. 3 ranked ODI side, goes against them.

But we must not make negatives out of positives. As Morgan pointed out, England are favourites "for a reason". They are unbeaten in bilateral ODI series (so ignoring the one-off defeat against Scotland) since January 2017 and have not lost one in England since 2015. They have balance, depth and confidence. Interpreting their status as favourites - or the grounds full of spectators willing them on - as anything other than positive would be illogical. And, as Morgan also pointed out, it is surely better to carry the pressure of expectation rather than the tag of no-hopers. They've been there, they've done that: it didn't help them play good cricket.

The wider context also offers some concern. It is now generally - if grudgingly - accepted that the absence of cricket from free-to-air television in England has endured too long to be healthy. Yes, the revenue brought in has been helpful, but even billionaires die without oxygen. The game has diminished in relevance across much of the land with recreational clubs reporting difficulty raising teams and most state schools no longer playing the sport. Unless they have a family member interested, it is entirely possible that children in the UK will have almost no knowledge of the game let alone any interest in who wins the World Cup.

So the worry remains: how many will see this tournament? Yes, there are free-to-air highlights packages and digital clips available - including on ESPNcricinfo for users in some regions - but will they permeate into the mass-market audience that gathered in pubs and homes and parks to watch their football counterparts last year? It seems unlikely.

This England side is in many ways inspiring. It reflects the mobile, multicultural society from which it is selected; it plays, in all formats, wonderfully exciting cricket and it is stocked by young men who have admirably embraced their wider responsibilities to the game. If they were seen more often on free-to-air television, there is no reason the likes of Jos Buttler should not feature on as many bedroom wall posters as Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo. He is an impeccable role model.

But cricket, in England, is still largely a private party (maybe the word 'school' should be inserted between those words). So despite the best efforts of the organisers, it may prove hard to gain much traction for this tournament in the mainstream media.

It also remains bewildering that having built towards this tournament for four years, England are largely abandoning 50-over cricket - at domestic level, at least - immediately afterwards. It will surely prove incredibly difficult to develop another ODI team such as this one. Morgan denied that it was "now or never" for England's World Cup chances but it probably is. The 2023 tournament is in India, after all, and as Morgan himself hinted we might only have another "10 or 20 years" of 50-over World Cups.

Such concerns can wait. For the next few weeks, at least, we have the prospect of some top-class cricket to watch. This is, already, an England side in which its supporters can identify and take pride. It is impossible to predict who will win but England really are good enough to be involved in the latter stages: from there, anything can happen. And if more people can see them on the journey, they really could inspire another generation of players and supporters.