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England are the current holders of both the white-ball World Cups. They won the 2019 50-over World Cup at home and, three years later, lifted the T20 World Cup in Australia. They have come a long way since they crashed out of the first round in the 2015 World Cup, including a loss against Bangladesh.
Adil Rashid has been at the forefront of the team's success over the years and believes that the post-2015 squad has been England's finest.
"It's something that, as a youngster, you dream of playing World Cups for your country and winning," Rashid said at the launch of the KP Snacks community cricket pitches initiative in Broadwater Farm.
"For a lot of us, that's become reality as well, so that's a moment you cherish with your team-mates, with your squad, your family members, your wife, your kids, your mum and dad … so that's something that I'm sure we'll all keep very close to us.
"And we also know that there's more to come as well," he added. "We also believe that this is not the end of it. We have that mindset of, yes, let's go beyond. Yes, we've created some kind of history, but we definitely want to push further on. Defending it and winning it again, that's the mentality."
Rashid, 35, however, does not believe that England's legacy will not hinge on how they fare in the World Cup later this year in India. "It [legacy] already has [been semented], I reckon, has it not?" he said.
"I mean, two World Cup wins, back to back, holding both. In terms of World Cup squads, from 2015 to this day, I don't know if any England team has ever been any better in terms of winning series, in terms of going from No. 7 or 8 in the world to No. 1.
"So as a squad, from 2015 until now, that era, I think we've definitely got the best England squad that's ever been."
Rashid will look to return to the next edition of The Hundred after having recovered from an injury. He has not played competitive cricket since turning up for a couple of matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 earlier this year.
"I came back from the IPL with a bit of an injury, so I took that month off during the T20 Blast to get fully fit, and hopefully, now I'm good to go," the leg-spinner said.
"It's not just myself. I'm sure everybody going there, the whole squad, will be ready and raring to go," he added. "As defending champions, we'll definitely go there with that mindset. It'd be very exciting times, but it will not be an easy challenge, especially in India in their backyard, where they are very strong.
"We'll definitely have to be our best as a unit, as a squad, but it's something that we know we can achieve if we put our mind to it, and it's something we'll definitely be looking forward to."
England kickstart the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand - the team they defeated in the 2019 final - in Ahmedabad on October 5. By the time the next World Cup comes around, Rashid will be 39, and in all likeliness, this could be his final crack at an ODI World Cup.
