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S<\/span><\/span>even months is an eternity in the mayflyesque lifecycle of a professional sportsperson, but that far out from October\u2019s 50-over World Cup England\u2019s preparations are almost done. After the completion of their ODI series against Bangladesh, their next match in the format is scheduled for just a few weeks before they head to India, and following the three T20s with which they conclude this tour the white-ball group will not meet up again until September.<\/span><\/p>\n This trip was originally scheduled for the autumn of 2021, but its eventual place in the calendar has proved far more useful. \u201cThis was our last opportunity to get together, and we\u2019ve been exposed to the conditions that we want to be exposed to,\u201d Matthew Mott, England\u2019s white-ball coach, said. \u201cIf we\u2019d come over here and had flat, belting wickets, it wouldn\u2019t have been the same experience. We\u2019ve had to work for everything and you can\u2019t buy that. I mean, if we were asking to construct the perfect series, this is the perfect series for us.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of it, a certain amount has become clear. Of the 15-man squad he will eventually name for the World Cup, Mott says there are \u201cseven or eight spots that you could probably lock in\u201d. It is not hard to imagine which names are already inked in, though the only one Mott actually named was Jofra Archer, who has continued a gradual reintroduction to international cricket here. \u201cHe\u2019s building and by the time we get to the Ashes and the World Cup, you can just see he\u2019s ticking all the boxes to get back to his best,\u201d said Mott.<\/p>\n Beyond individuals there are certain types of players that are desired: Mott\u2019s ideal XI would contain, for most matches in India, \u201cthree spin options and a little bit of variety in that as well\u201d. So Liam Livingstone joins Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali on the lock-in list if he returns to form and fitness, but either Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed or another spin-bowling all-rounder who makes a compelling case over the next six months is likely to be in the squad as back-up (Joe Root, who has not bowled at all in 89 of his 158 ODIs, including eight of his last nine in Asia, looks like an option of last resort).<\/p>\n