Cricket world cup: Graham Gooch says best yet to come for England

Graham Gooch is convinced England have the ability to win the World Cup for the first time in their history.

To do so, Andrew Strauss' team need to come out on top in three more matches over the next two weeks - starting with Saturday's quarter-final against co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Gooch, England's batting coach, fell at the last hurdle three times when England lost World Cup finals in 1979, 1987 and 1992. But he is hoping he can help England's class of 2011 go one better. As England arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday to begin their preparations to face Muttiah Muralitharan and Co at the Premadasa Stadium next weekend, there was both a tinge of regret and optimism in Gooch's voice.

"Winning a World Cup didn't happen for me," he said. "I hope this team have got it within them to win the World Cup - and I'm convinced they have."

England's progress thus far has been stuttering and left plenty of room for improvement. But Gooch, whose 27-year career put him 10th on the all-time list of first-class run-scorers, is confident England can complete what - after their 2010/11 Ashes win - would be their most successful winter.

"They've come through this first stage of the competition, shown their fighting qualities and their resilience," he added. "We can get better and, if we do, we have as good a chance as anyone else."

It seems Gooch is still living the dream. "It's a great honour to be involved with the England side. When you come up as a youngster you dream about playing for your country. I was fortunate enough to do that, and now to be asked to help other players who are representing their country, is a great thrill."

He knows all about how to get to World Cup finals and believes England's nerve-shredding campaign so far is no bad thing. "The objective was to get into the knockout stages. We've made that. We're not going to look back. We're going to look forward to the next challenge.

"We know we can improve, we know we've got better cricket within our team. Our guys need to concentrate on that. Each individual has got to commit to his game to be part of our team framework for the big match."

Perhaps one of the most taxing selection decisions will be whether to stick with Matt Prior as Strauss' opening partner, or push the wicketkeeper-batsman back down the order in favour of either Ian Bell or Ravi Bopara.

Gooch insists that call has not yet been made, but is encouraged by the enthusiasm Bell revealed yesterday when asked if he would like to be promoted again.

Prior's returns since replacing the injured Kevin Pietersen as Strauss' opening partner in this tournament have been mediocre. In 27 matches at the top of the order, Bell averages in the low 30s and, after fewer opportunities, Bopara too has failed to nail down the position.