After the minor blip of a 12-run defeat to Australia at Southampton, England’s final warm-up game could hardly have gone more to plan.

Victory inside 57 overs against an Afghanistan side that had beaten Pakistan only three days earlier, Eoin Morgan restored to the team after dislocating his finger but required to neither bat nor field, a good work out for seven bowlers (including a few experimental leggies from Joe Root) and another scintillating display of hitting from England’s rampant opening pair.

Speaking after the game, Morgan said he and his players could switch off from cricket for a short while ahead of their opening fixture against South Africa, and he could focus on his round of golf the following day. It’s all in sharp contrast to England’s frenetic and bungled lead-up to the World Cup four years ago.

Here’s how the tournament favourites are shaping up ahead of #cwc19. ?https://t.co/S6dCVndGGi

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 25, 2019

The best news of the day, however, came before a ball had even been bowled. Mark Wood, who had left the field in the fourth over of his spell during the warm-up fixture against Australia after feeling a twinge in his troublesome ankle, was given the all clear after a precautionary scan.

Anyone who has followed Wood’s career would have feared the worst when he left the field at Southampton – it’s a sight we’ve become depressingly familiar with in the 29-year-old’s stop-start career. But the England camp confirmed he was available to play against Afghanistan if required and Wood said he was never too alarmed.

A major boost for England ahead of #CWC19 ?https://t.co/dVue1cDpMe

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 27, 2019

“I wasn’t worried about the scan because I knew it was precautionary,” said Wood after the win over Afghanistan at The Oval. “I probably could have carried on bowling, but I didn’t want to take any risks with it, when I knew what was round the corner – especially with my background.”

Wood conceded he would have liked to have a few more overs under his belt at this stage – he’s made just one first-class and three List A appearances since England’s tour of the Caribbean finished in March – but the fact he has been given a clean bill of health on the eve of the World Cup is a victory in itself, and testament to the work he’s done behind the scenes with the ECB’s lead fast bowling coach Kevin Shine and the rest of the backroom staff, most notably with the lengthening of his run-up.

For the opening match, though, let’s see the hosts go at South Africa with raw pace. England have been a side in a hurry for the last four years. Now is not the time to slow down.