Bopara set to retain England spot

England are likely to stick with the same XI that took them to the final of the Carlton Mid tri-series when their World Cup campaign begins. They were beaten three times by Australia, their opponents on February 14, during the tournament but feel they showed enough improvement to suggest they could still pull-off a shock if they can just put all facets of a performance together at the same time.

Certainly that was the view of the coach, Peter Moores, as he reflected on the first few weeks of a tour that has been, to date, quietly encouraging.

While Moores accepted that aspects of England's cricket - their batting in the final, the lack of yorkers from the bowlers and the modest performance of Ravi Bopara - had been frustrating, he also defended the balance of the side and suggested the team had shown they were "not far away" from being able to beat the best.

"We're happy how we're progressing," Moores said. "We're better placed now than when we started because we've had some really good individual performances.

"The final was disappointing as we just didn't show up with the bat. And we'll look back and say we should have bowled more yorkers to James Faulkner. We didn't, we'll take that on the chin and take that experience and make our plans simpler so we get it right. But if we look back on the event as a whole, we're in a much stronger position now than we were when we came to Australia.

"We've had more 100 partnerships in the tri-series than any other team. We've now beaten India - who will be one of the favourites in the World Cup - three times in a row and, in one game against Australia, we scored 300-odd and felt we should have scored more. We've walked away from that game thinking we've maybe we've missed an opportunity. Then, in the final, we had then 60 for 4, but they had a partnership and got away at the end.

"We're not that far away. We've got to keep pulling the performance together as a team. We need to pull the whole thing together."

Moores admitted that Bopara had not enjoyed the most impressive tournament - he was trusted with just three overs and averaged 14.25 with the bat - but restated his value to the team. So while England will use the warm-up matches against West Indies and Pakistan in Sydney to look at other players, it is likely that they will play the same team in the opening match of the World Cup as lost in the tri-series final in Perth.

"We like the flexibility in the current team as it gives us some options," Moores said. "We're trying to be settled as, coming into this tournament, like any side in transition, you try new things and give opportunities to people. But at some point you have to say, right let's trust these guys to go and play. Everyone gets clear in their role and you move forward.

"You're always conscious going into a tournament that the people who aren't playing need to be ready to play. You don't know at what stage you'll need them, through injury or whatever. Gary Ballance has not been fit, but he's been netting here and he should be fit in Sydney.

"We haven't used Ravi's bowling much but it gives us an option. Ravi had a couple of opportunities to bowl but didn't really take them. To really get your teeth into the side, when you get those little windows of a chance to bowl you want to grab them and he's missed a couple if we're honest. I think he'll be frustrated with that.

"But Ravi will know that, the last time he was in Australia, he had a very good tour with the ball. Don't underestimate Ravi's batting or his bowling. He's a very experienced cricketer with bat and ball."

Moores also rejected the suggestion that the new-look England team were in any way "soft".

"This team's got something about it," he said. "They're not soft at all. They're quiet, but that's a big difference. Steely quiet is different to being soft.

"This team's got something about it. Those who haven't played internationals much have to find their way of being tough to play against. We've got those finding their style of how they're going to be - much like Jimmy Anderson found his way through his career. Now people find him hard to face. We've got a few lads finding that, but they'll find it fast."