"Winning this would be on a par with winning the Ashes [in 2005]," he said.

"You want to look back on your career and see a World Cup winner's medal along with everything else.

"It would be fantastic to walk out at Lord's at the start of the English summer with the whole country in cricket fever again."

The England team arrived in the Caribbean on Friday and have two days to shake off the effects of the journey before taking on Bermuda in their opening warm-up game.

A more meaningful test comes on Friday when they face Australia again after beating them 2-0 to win the recent Commonwealth Bank series final.

Vice-captain Flintoff will inevitably be a key figure if England are to go a long way in the tournament and he is delighted there has been a trouble-free build-up after off-the-field problems ahead of the last two World Cups.

"The one in 1999, there was a pay dispute. I was 20, a new boy, and kept my head down -- but it was not an ideal way to prepare.

"Then the Zimbabwe issue in South Africa [four years ago] was a bit of a nightmare. I have no fond memories of that World Cup, even though it probably did kick-start my career again," he told The Sun newspaper.

Flintoff believes the recent success in Australia has instilled new self-belief in the squad and the timing may be right for them to go a long way in the tournament.

"This England team have a habit of making history and the World Cup is another milestone because we've not won it and we haven't really competed since 1992," he said.

The International Cricket Council has confirmed, meanwhile, that Rudi Koertzen and Asad Rauf will umpire England's opening World Cup match against New Zealand on 16 March.

Peter Parker and Billy Doctrove will stand in their second group game against Canada two days later, with Parker and Koertzen appointed for England v Kenya on 24 March.