London, September 16 - Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood believes the national side must give the 50-over World Cup as much importance as the Ashes to make the most of the younger players.England have never won the World Cup, but are scheduled to host the next edition in 2019.
"We've got to make sure that the World Cup is equal to winning the Ashes," Collingwood, who is taking on a consulting role with England's One-Day International (ODI) side was quoted as saying by the BBC on Tuesday.
"It's a huge opportunity for the youngsters coming through and the guys already there to do something special,” he said.
After limping out of the 2015 World Cup in the group stages, England played a more aggressive brand of one-day cricket on home soil over the summer.
They beat World Cup finalists New Zealand 3-2 and suffered a 3-2 series defeat by world champions Australia after regaining the Ashes in August.
Collingwood, who captained England to their only global limited-overs trophy at the World Twenty20 in 2010 and won three Ashes series, believes that there is a core of players capable of challenging for the 50-over title in 2019.
"From what I've seen, it's a really exciting time to be involved in English cricket," Collingwood, who will help coach the limited-overs teams against Pakistan in the UAE in November and at the World T20 in India in March next year said.
"We have a group of players who can move forward very quickly and hopefully get to the very top and be one step ahead rather than one step behind all the time,” the former cricketer said.
(IANS)