Monday 3 November 2014 09:43, UK
James Anderson believes England can build their confidence for next year's World Cup with a positive performance in Sri Lanka later this month.
England began the year with a heavy one-day international series defeat in Australia before rebounding from an opening defeat against the West Indies to clinch a 2-1 win.
But Alastair Cook's side then suffered a 3-2 series defeat to Sri Lanka at the start of the summer before being soundly beaten by India, and they will arrive in Sri Lanka having lost 11 of their last 18 matches in the 50-over format.
They now face seven one-day internationals in Sri Lanka before heading to Australia in January to complete their preparations for the World Cup in a triangular series against Australia and India.
Anderson believes the tour to Sri Lanka will be crucial in developing team unity and installing belief into an inexperienced squad.
We are still a fairly young team, we have got some new guys that are still gelling and finding their feet in the team
"Hopefully we can gel as a team to give us some momentum going over to Australia in the new year," Anderson told the England and Wales Cricket Board website.
"We are still a fairly young team, we have got some new guys that are still gelling and finding their feet in the team.
"We have got to help those guys along, as well as the senior guys finding some form as well, and I think it is all about momentum.
"If we can get a win over there it will be a huge confidence boost for us and we would certainly be able to enjoy our Christmas knowing we have got a series win under out belt. That will give us huge confidence.”
Anderson has experience of the tough conditions awaiting them having been part of the England side that claimed a series victory in Sri Lanka seven years ago.
The veteran paceman knows that he and the likes of fellow senior players Cook, Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara have a big role to play to help the younger members of the party acclimatise.
"It is always a tough place to go," Anderson added. "They are alien conditions for us and we need to get to grips with those conditions early in that trip for us to be able to do well.
"We have got a lot of guys who haven’t been there before, so the senior players will come into their own and pass on some advice.
"Some of us were involved in a series win over there a few years back."
Anderson also hit back at the critics who believe England have little chance of winning the World Cup for the first time, insisting they will be going all out to prove the doubters wrong.
"We are going over there to win the World Cup," he declared. "I know people will scoff at that and people have written us off already, but we are quite happy to be underdogs.
"Hopefully we can go under the radar and surprise a few people when we get there."
