England fielding coach Chris Taylor has spoken of the importance of that discipline in the modern game and believes Eoin Morgan's side are fast-improving in that area.
With the start of the World Cup now only days away, England's preparations are just about complete and Taylor thinks his role could be crucial.
England’s fielding performances look to have dramatically improved since they arrived in Australia for the Tri-Series, with Morgan's men shelling just four chances in all five games.
Taylor said: “We are steadily improving. We make a big importance of that during our practice and during our game time.
“I think if you look back at any iconic games or Test series, those catches you see, the run-out opportunities – those are the ones you remember and we’re converting our chances at the moment.
“When the ball goes in the air we’re catching more than we’re putting down and we’re collecting some run-outs as well so it's all very positive at the moment.”
“@SkyCricket: WATCH: Ian Bell's stunning catch to dismiss Stuart Binny: http://t.co/TDjlIyVyfepic.twitter.com/BUVbtMlZLn” Quite Marvellous ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 30, 2015
He highlighted the impressive performance against West Indies yesterday as proof. England won by nine wickets and that was in part thanks to a fine fielding display which saw them take every chance offered.
Taylor, who took over as fielding coach at the start of Peter Moores’ reign, explained: “The general mood in the camp is that we’ve improved and we’re improving every day really.
“Yesterday's performance was another key one for us, we took our chances again, we took some good catches – Ian Bell took two fantastic catches at slip, James Tredwell coming in who hasn’t had the game time just yet but again contributed in the field.
“It’s been an improvement since Sri Lanka and going into the World Cup we feel like we’re in the right place at the moment.”
The idea that fielding could be the difference between winning and losing a World Cup has recent evidence to back it up and Taylor, along with the rest of the coaching staff, is leaving no stone unturned in his quest for perfection.
He said: “The Big Bash (League) final was lost on a fielding error towards the end of the game and the margins in international sport are getting smaller and smaller so any area we can improve we are desperate to.”
However the squad have not lost sight of what awaits them on Saturday, with Taylor admitting it will be a fantastic occasion when England kick off their campaign in front of a sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"We have spoken a about it a little bit. It's going to be a fantastic experience," Taylor said.
"Everyone is excited. Those kind of games you just need to embrace the situation you are in. If you look too much into the fact there's 90,000 people there you could almost get yourself too worked up and tense.
"Everyone is really looking forward to it; it is an experience I'm sure everyone will remember for the rest of their lives.
"My advice is to try and embrace it and enjoy being out in the field as we have done for the last month or two."