But it’s hard to gauge exactly where they are now. When half the warm-up series with Pakistan was lost to bad weather, there was some solace in the fact that the three games against associate nations might turn the first group stage into a de facto preparation camp. But further rain and England’s failure meant that the final two games, against Oman and Namibia, unfolded like a succession of mini-quests in a video game, with no opportunity to shape the team or get into the conventional rhythm of the format. In England’s only “regular” game, against Australia, they were trounced.