Johannesburg, Sep 02 - England coach Peter Moores has admitted on Monday that the squad faces a race against time if they want to prove themselves to be serious contenders to win next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

No England side has ever lifted the World Cup, with the last of their three losing appearances in the final back in 1992, when the tournament was last staged 'Down Under'.

England are on the cusp of a fifth successive ODI series loss under captain Alastair Cook , given they are 2-0 down with two to play ahead of Tuesday's fourth ODI against world champions India at Edgbaston. They have a maximum of 14 ODIs in just over five months between now and the start of the World Cup on February 14, culminating in tri-series in Australia also featuring India.

Moores said that they have got to work fast, adding that they have got to accelerate the development of the team quicker than might be normal to get themselves really competitive by the World Cup, Sport24 reported.

Moores, who is in his second spell as England coach, said that they will be unfancied, and they have got work to do. But he insisted that England were not suffering 'paralysis by analysis', and that opening batsman Cook, who has gone 37 ODI innings without a hundred, was the right man to lead the one-day side. (ANI)