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London – Root talks up Archer’s Ashes chances

“I think he’s brilliant. I know there’s a thing about him qualifying but we’ve done that for a number of years.

“When I was a kid we were watching Robin Smith (born in South Africa) and were waiting on Graeme Hick (born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe) to play (for England).

“We’ve had KP (Kevin Pietersen, born in South Africa) so it’s not a new thing,” said the 41-year-old Flintoff.

“But watching the lad bowl,” he said of Archer “For someone to bowl that quick so easily, with so much control, all the tricks – slower balls, bouncers, yorkers – he’s got to be in hasn’t he?”

Flintoff had little sympathy for those members of England’s current pace attack who had expressed concerns about possible damage to team morale were Archer to play at the World Cup.

“I would make sure I would raise my game,” Flintoff said. “It’s international sport, competitive and it’s a good position for England to be in that you can drop or leave out someone (else) so good.”

England have never won the men’s World Cup, Making the last of their three losing appearances in the final back in 1992.

All three of Flintoff’s World Cup campaigns saw England make early exits.

“I played in three World Cups and didn’t get through the group stages, even though they didn’t pass without incident!” joked Flintoff, who at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean commandeered a pedalo in St Lucia.

“It would be nice to see an England side do something now. Going into it you look at the sides and we’re up there with the favourites aren’t we?”

Asked what had changed in England’s approach to ODI cricket since he retired in 2009, Flintoff cited the white-ball captain Eoin Morgan’s “impressive” influence, before adding: “I think they’ve found their identity.

“For years when I played it was ‘Sri Lanka have won the World Cup with a pinch hitter let’s get a (Sanath) Jayasuriya at the top of the order.’ Australia were doing well with Adam Gilchrist, ‘let’s try and do what they do’. We were always chasing the game.

“I think now we’ve found the best England one-day team we’ve seen.”