Plenty to resolve as England get the band back together - 2019 heroes must click fast

IT IS easy to imagine a jovial scene in the England dressing room as it fills out at Cardiff this week: Thin Lizzy blaring, welcoming back-slaps all round and, with the World Cup honing into view, the boys of 2019 back in town.

- Malik Ouzia

The reality will, no doubt, be far less 'reuniony'. These players are hardly strangers, to one another or to fans, criss-crossing paths at all manner of teams, tournaments and tee-boxes, not to mention in the Test and T20 formats that have dominated England's agenda in the four years since the 50-over outfit enjoyed its greatest day. Even so, just as there is a greater thrill in hearing your favourite song played on radio than on-demand, the World Cup juices will start to flow a little more freely for seeing the core of that champion side reassembled in its proper domain.

Nine of 2019's heroes are involved in the four-match ODI series against New Zealand that begins in the Welsh capital tomorrow. Of the dozen players most central to that success, only injury (Jofra Archer) and age (Eoin Morgan and Liam Plunkett) have denied a full quota the chance to defend their title in India from the start of next month.

And yet, despite so much continuity, this is not the perfectly-honed team of 2019, not the same machine - not yet, at least.