Prior believes recent past is irrelevant as England chase World Cup dream

Hard graft and default have combined to help them sneak through Group B into the quarter-finals, and they know it.

But they are just as aware they have the ability to perform much better than they have managed so far.

Matt Prior could have been forgiven for having much on his mind yesterday. He is the fulcrum of England’s performance in the field as wicketkeeper and is trying to figure out why he cannot score more runs at the top of the order.

But even as he waited to discover whether England want him to continue in his opening role alongside captain Andrew Strauss, the wicketkeeper-batsman could still see the bigger picture.

England will need to rediscover a long-lost consistency if they are to win their next three matches, starting with Saturday’s quarter-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

But should they do so, on the back of this year’s first Ashes series victory in Australia for a quarter-of-a-century, they can all count on being household names for the rest of their lives.

As far as Prior is concerned, it is a prize worth fighting for, even at the end of such an arduous and exhausting winter.

“We came here to win the World Cup, and if you leave having not won it you will be disappointed,” he said. “You haven’t achieved your goal.”

Prior acknowledges England have been well short of their best in a stuttering campaign so far, but insists that will matter little if they can make the necessary improvements in time.

“We have fought very hard as a unit,” he said.

“We’re at the ‘sexy’ part of the competition – the knockout stages – and everything that has gone on before is irrelevant.

“There are no points boards to look at. It’s win or go home and that in itself is going to bring a lot of adrenaline and a lot of energy to the team.

“We have three games to win and we are world champions.”

The great Australia team of the past decade twice followed Ashes victory with World Cup success in the same winter. But England are well into uncharted territory.

“To win an Ashes and to win a World Cup in a winter is something quite phenomenal,” added Prior. “It’s something all these guys in this dressing room are fighting to do.”

Paul Collingwood is to have keyhole knee surgery at the end of England’s World Cup campaign.

Collingwood, 34, who retired from Test cricket after this winter’s Ashes, felt some discomfort in his left knee ahead of England’s match against South Africa and subsequent assessment revealed a loose piece of cartilage floating in his knee that will require surgical removal.

He played in four of England’s six group matches, but was dropped for the crucial victories over South Africa and the West Indies.