5 England players to watch out for in 2015 Cricket World Cup

England became the first team to announce their final 15-man squad for the illustrious Cricket World Cup, having done so on December 19. One major exclusion from the the squad was captain Alastair Cook, who has subsequently been relieved of his duties as skipper. He averaged a disappointing 27.52 in his last 20 ODIs leading to calls for him to resign, but few people anticipated the ECB dropping their main man less than two months before England’s first World Cup game against Australia in Melbourne.His replacement was announced as the Irish-born Eoin Morgan who has impressed with his attacking captaincy in the shorter formats of the game. It is well documented how the English team have struggled to adapt to the free-flowing, attacking style of cricket that the game now demands. Will Morgan’s appointment change this?Here are 5 key figures in the England set-up who have to perform if the team are to progress to the latter stages of the tournament:

#1 Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali is a breath of fresh air as far as the one-day team is concerned. His attacking style of silky batting added with his humble personality is a perfect combination for a prolonged career at the top of England’s batting order. In Sri Lanka, the way he nonchalantly saw off the hosts’ opening pacemen won him many plaudits.

Also, his useful off-spin adds another dimension to England’s weak bowling attack. The potential Moeen has as an opener-cum-spinner makes him one of England’s key assets in the upcoming World Cup.