Former England allrounder Chris Woakes believes that the current one-day team led by Harry Brook have turned a corner after back-to-back group-stage exits at the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy, and suggested they could have a "hell of a shout" at next year's 50-over showpiece in southern Africa.
Speaking on Cricinfo's Switch Hit podcast, Woakes, who was a key part of the ODI side led by Eoin Morgan that lifted a maiden men's World Cup on home soil in 2019, said he felt the current crop was beginning to take shape under Brook and Brendon McCullum.
Their main issue is likely to be a lack of familiarity with the format, given List A county cricket has run parallel to the Hundred since 2021, coupled with ODIs falling to the bottom of England's pecking order; that in turn has hampered the "role definition" that was essential to Morgan's winning team.
In line with the ECB's focus at the time on winning a first men's World Cup, England played 87 ODIs between the 2015 and 2019 editions. Since finishing a lowly seventh in the 10-team round-robin in 2023, they have played 35 ODIs - 23 of them under Brook - with a maximum of 21 more games before the tournament in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia begins next October, starting with Tuesday's tri-series opener against Pakistan.
"I think they're getting more towards that role definition," Woakes said. "We were lucky, heading into 2019, we had a lot of ODIs … and we'd won a lot of games. We'd played a hell of a lot, we'd been through every scenario, so we were kind of ready for it. This team probably aren't going to have the same amount, which doesn't mean that they can't go on to win it, it just means their role clarity, they need to define that a little bit quicker.
"It feels like they're moving in the right direction with that. It wasn't long ago, with the ODI team in particular, it didn't look great: there was a lot of losses, didn't really have a style. But it feels like now, obviously Brendon [McCullum] fully in charge - and I think he's looking at it as if to say, 'We have a real opportunity and have to make this a priority'. And rightly so, winning World Cups is massive.
"You look down the team, there's serious players, led by Harry - who I think could easily be England's best-ever batter, he's that good. If he has a tournament like he could, any team could win. It looks like they've got an attack that can take wickets. Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton… Spin, I think they've got options, the ball going both ways. Obviously you've got Adil [Rashid] still going, still doing it really well. He'll have a big role to play.
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"It feels like they have got a lot of bases covered, and if they can win games and get that role clarity between now and leading into that World Cup, I think they've got a hell of a shout."
Asked when he had first noted Brook as a standout talent, Woakes pinpointed his knock of 75 in the fourth innings at Headingley during the 2023 Ashes.
"He just made it look easy. In a chase which was really tricky, in terms of the size of it, playing against Australia, home ground and the way he kept his emotions [in check] - not only the quality of his batting, but kept himself in the zone. There's loads of shots you look at and go 'There's not many people can do that.'
"I think it's more so seeing a lot of his cricket recently, particularly this summer when, in the Hundred, I was looking at having to play him. I was like 'Oh my god, I'm going to have to play against this guy. He's not on my side.' And you start to think, 'Jeez, this guy is next level.' There's moments when you see some of the shots he's played… He's unbelievable, and when people do things like he's capable of doing, and you see him doing it against serious bowling attacks, you take notice."
Woakes, who is one of a small group of Englishmen to have played on the winning side in both ODI and T20 World Cup finals, retired from international duty after dislocating his shoulder in his final Test appearance, against India at The Oval last summer.
His autobiography, The Wizard, is released this week, in which he reflects on a 15-year career with England that saw him debut under Andy Flower and go on to play a significant part in the "Bazball" era, which included winning the Compton-Miller medal as player of the 2023 Ashes, as well as his success with the white-ball teams. Unsurprisingly, the 2019 World Cup remains his most-cherished memory.
"It really is the standout piece of my career, going on that journey from after the 2015 World Cup through to 2019 with that team, that group of players, that management, Morgs as captain. That was as enjoyable a time as I've had playing for England … That team felt like we were building a journey together, building to something more special. Obviously that end goal was the 2019 World Cup, and I still to this day don't know how we got over the line. But the stars were aligned and it was meant to be. That is comfortably the most rewarding, and the best time I've had on a cricket field and off it."