Ben Stokes said that England may be the top-ranked ODI team in the world but there is no margin for error if they want to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the Cricket World Cup.
Host nation England are the ICC's number one team as they approach the upcoming tournament, looking to claim the trophy for the very first time.
But Stokes warned that unlike in longer series' where defeats can be rectified, England cannot afford any slip ups.
"All the nations come together over a certain period and whichever team performs best over that time gets to lift the trophy," he told Omnisport, speaking courtesy of Red Bull. "You want to be that team.
"It's not a series, where you can win 3-2. You have to make sure that you're the best team on every day and I think it shows which teams are the best.
"You look at Australia, when they won three in a row [in 1999, 2003 and 2007], they were an unbelievable team. They always won the World Cups because they were the best team.
"I think that's the best thing about it - it puts a big split between the top teams and the lower teams."
Over the moon to be selected in the World Cup squad,been training hard behind the scenes with @redbulluk .
Congrats to all the other lads who have been selected,it’s going to be a great summer #LoveEngland pic.twitter.com/x1ecdUt6Vl
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 22, 2019
After the World Cup, England's Test team will host Australia in the Ashes before head coach Trevor Bayliss departs when his contract expires in September.
And Stokes paid tribute to Bayliss for his work in improving the approach of England's ODI cricket.
"I think he's been brilliant for the one-day team," Stokes said. "He's come in and changed our ethos and thinking towards it.
"He's given us a lot of confidence and he just lets us drive the team forward really with how we want to play.
"Eoin Morgan has also done a great job with that, as our leader and captain, but [Bayliss] has been very, very influential over the last four years."
England begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.
