England's greatest ever seam bowler James Anderson believes there has never been a better opportunity for Eoin Morgan to achieve World Cup success this summer.

England have won their past nine one-day series of two or more matches following a 2-1 defeat by India in January 2017, while since the group-stage exit at the last World Cup in 2015, Morgan's side have won 51 of 76 one-day internationals, losing 20, with one tie and four no results.

The ten teams in the tournament will play against each other in a single-league format, with the top four sides after 45 matches qualifying for the two semi-finals – and Anderson feels a last-four spot is England’s to lose.

Anderson, who played nearly 200 ODIS and has taken more than 500 Test wickets, believes England are the team to beat.

Previously England have been playing catch-up heading into a major 50-over tournament – but ahead of this summer’s World Cup it’s Morgan’s men who are the number one ranked team in the world. 

“It has been a long time since we looked like we were going to win a 50-over World Cup – you need to go all the way back to 1992,” said Anderson, speaking at the launch of the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan, where Nelson’s Column was transformed into a giant set of wickets as cricket took over Trafalgar Square to mark 100 days until the start of the tournament.

“I think it’s such an exciting time to be part of the England side.

“When I was involved, it always felt as though we were trying to catch up with the rest of the world, whether it was Australia or India blazing a trail.

“But now it’s very different and it’s England who are setting that bar and leading the way.

“There’s no ceiling on how good they can be, and the rest of the world are following them presently and that’s a good place to be.

“I don’t think we have had a better chance of getting to a final and doing something special in a tournament then now.”

Anderson believes England’s biggest challengers at the World Cup will be a revitalised Australia, India and Pakistan.

And the paceman has warned against complacency and building momentum in the later stages of the competition.

“It’s difficult to say who will be England’s biggest challengers,” added Anderson. “Australia always seem to hit form at just the right time.

“They’ve got a couple of very big players to add back into the mix and if they do so, and the guys hit the ground running, they will be a serious threat at this tournament.

“India and Pakistan are always strong – they always have very good support in England. We saw Pakistan knock England out of the Champions Trophy and so I think they will be a very big threat.

“It will be interesting to see how the tournament plays out, particularly with the round-robin phase – winning a major competition is all about building momentum at the right time.

“Whoever finds that at the backend of the tournament will be a danger and hopefully England can remain strong and competitive throughout.”

ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan, commences 100-day tour of England and Wales and will be at over 100 locations and events before arriving back in London ready for the opening match on May 30