New-ball blues

With two semi-finals and three final appearances, England have come close to clinching the title on numerous occasions, but they have invariably lost the plot at key moments. They have also fallen away in the recent editions of the tournament, failing to get to semis in the last three World Cups. Thanks to their poor World Cup form in the last decade, their win-loss ratio in the tournament is only 1.72 (31 wins, 18 defeats), which is fourth among all teams after Australia, South Africa and West Indies. (Click here for their numbers in each World Cup, and here and more detailed stats for England in the tournament.)

On current form, however, England have a hope. Though they have only won eight of their last 20 matches (with 11 defeats), their last four games have all ended in wins - three against Australia and one against New Zealand. The last time they managed such a streak against top teams (excluding Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the other non-Test playing teams) was way back in 1997. (On that occasion they stretched their winning streak to eight games.) While they have the momentum going in their favour, their record in the West Indies is a dismal one - just six wins in 27 matches. The slow pitches with the lack of seam movement clearly haven't been to their liking.

In their last 20 games, England's batsmen score 29 runs per wicket at 4.8 runs per over, but concede more than 35 with the ball, at more than 5.1 per over. The one area where they have often lost out is when bowling at the start of the innings. If the first 20 overs they have been quite toothless, conceding more than 45 runs per wicket at nearly five runs per over. In contrast their own batsmen only score 33.58 runs per dismissal. The difference is marginal in the next 20 overs, while England have actually outperformed the opposition in the last ten, but the lackadaisical bowling display in the first 20 overs has often been the difference.

So who is England's best bet with the new ball and at the death? Jon Lewis, with an average of less than 19 and an incredible economy rate of less than three per over, is a huge asset at the start of the innings. Liam Plunkett and Sajid Mahmood, on the other hand, haven't quite fitted the bill - Plunkett, especially, has been disappointing, with a high average and economy rate. In fact, his stats in the last ten suggests Michael Vaughan might be better off giving him more of a bowl towards the end of the innings.

The other bowler who has done well at the start of the innings is James Anderson - he averages less than 19, at an economy rate of just over 3.5. Compare that to his sconomy rate at the end of the innings, and it's clear where he should be bowling.

England will also have to improve on their accuracy with the ball - in the last 20 matches they have conceded 217 runs through wides, while the opposition sides have only given away 129. On pitches expected to be good ones for batting, England can afford such generosity.

England's lack of firepower with the ball is also reflected in the average top-order partnerships by the opposition batsmen. The first three wickets all put together more than 40, which is much more than what England's top order has managed. They have usually managed to pull it back towards the middle of the innings, but the bowlers have again struggled to finish off the tail - the last three opposition wickets average 77 with the bat; England's last three only manage 43.

England's batting stars over the last six months have clearly been Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood. They've both been among the runs, and they also tend to bat well together, averaging more than 40 per partnership with six fifty-plus stands. The other batsmen, though, all average less than 35. If England's challenge in the World Cup is to be a serious one, they'll need more than two batsmen to contribute heavily.