Despite their hampered build-up, bowler Mark Wood insists England will have "no excuses" at the T20 World Cup.
England had intended to prepare for the event with a four-match series against Pakistan this month, but the first and third matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled.
This Thursday's fourth Twenty20 match at The Oval, broadcast live on BBC Two and iPlayer, is their final one before they play Scotland in Barbados on June 4th in their World Cup opening. However, more rain is predicted.
"You want the games to practise stuff, but it’s a fine balance," Wood said. "One or two of us might feel like we need a game or two to get going, but there will be no excuses. We’re a professional side, we’re the England cricket team, we’ve got everything we need. We should be able to adapt, and when we get out there that’s when the time to turn it on is."
England's first T20 encounter of the year came against Pakistan on Saturday at Edgbaston, which the hosts won by a score of 23 runs. In 2024, Pakistan has participated in 14 Twenty20 matches.
More than half of England's team left the Indian Premier League early to prepare for the weather-affected series.
"You can look at both sides," Wood said. "Some lads have been playing at the IPL and they’re match-ready. The lads that haven’t, is there a freshness? At the IPL, you’re playing all the time, other lads have seen your tricks, they’ve seen what you’re doing."
Although captain Jos Buttler missed their third Twenty20 match due to the impending birth of his third child, coach Matthew Mott also missed a day of training due to a family matter. However, England is not the only team experiencing difficulties in their World Cup preparation.
With just nine players available due to IPL obligations, selector George Bailey and head coach Andrew McDonald were two of the four backroom staff members that led Australia onto the field against Namibia on Tuesday.
Due to a knee injury, Wood hasn't played. However, if the weather hadn't been bad, he would have been back for Tuesday's third Twenty20 match in Cardiff.
It would be his first T20 of any kind since April 2023 if he played at The Oval on Thursday.
"It will be important for me, to be honest with you," Wood said. “I feel like I’m getting to the stage where I’m off my full run, I’m ready to play. I feel I was in a position to bowl quickly and test it out."