England's one-day international side is showing signs of genuine improvement, having beaten world number one side India 2-1 in a recent ODI series, adding to a 4-0 T20 series win. This comes as a welcome upturn for coach Brendon McCullum, whose July has been far brighter than late June, when Test captain Ben Stokes retired following a series defeat by New Zealand. With the 2027 World Cup a little over a year away, the results suggest England may be rebuilding the momentum they had before their 2019 World Cup triumph.

Key to the improvement has been a new opening pairing of Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell, England's sixth opening combination since the 2023 World Cup, who put on a record ODI opening stand at Lord's, with Duckett reaching his fourth century in the format and Bethell falling for 91. Joe Root has also enjoyed a remarkable revival, averaging 81.5 across 21 innings with four centuries since his recall, and has now recorded six consecutive scores of 50 or more, an England first, having previously struggled and been dropped from the ODI set-up throughout 2024.