The captain of England cricket team Eoin Morgan said Chris Woakes, the fast-bowler, is extremely important for the team at the upcoming World Cup due to his experience.
"He'll be extremely important. He has been the best bowler in the world in the first ten overs for the past two years in international cricket and he goes about his business very quietly and very effectively. He's exceptional, and a very important part of our team," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Morgan, as saying on Wednesday.
Woakes has been England go-to bowler over the past two years and the bowler has provided the team with crucial breakthroughs in the first ten overs of the match.
The Morgan-led England team is considered as one of the favourites for the upcoming World Cup as they have shown the best form in the limited-overs format since the last World cup in 2015. The team currently holds the number one spot in the ICC ODI team rankings.
The skipper, however, highlighted the threat of World number two India, who they face on June 30 at Edgbaston.
"It's a huge opportunity and one that we're really looking forward to. We have been building towards this and we can't wait to get started. Every time we play India, it seems to be an away game and a home game for them wherever they are in the world. They're such a big team and a popular team that they do get great support," Morgan said.
"But it'll be no different to any other time that we play them. It's a big game for us so we're firmly focused on what we're going to do and how we prepare. We're really looking forward to it. It's been a tough two years that we've played against them and two very competitive series. To go into the World Cup almost as joint-favorites is exciting," he added.
England 15-member preliminary team for the World Cup: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
England will take on Australia and Afghanistan in the warm-up matches before the World Cup on May 25 and 27.
The 50-over World Cup will take place in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14. England will take on South Africa in the opening match of the tournament on May 30.
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