England have spent the last three weeks enjoying the West Indies' most popular tourist destinations: Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia. Their arrival in Georgetown, Guyana on Tuesday morning brought with it a major change of mood: their hotel overlooks the brown, silty meeting point of the Demerara River and the Atlantic, rather than the bright blue of the Caribbean sea.
It is a venture into the unknown. England's men have not played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana since 2010, when they snuck through to the second phase of the World T20 on net run-rate after defeat to West Indies and a washout against Ireland. Chris Jordan is the only squad member with any experience at Providence, amounting to two CPL games five years ago.
Georgetown is a city that is changing rapidly, with extensive redevelopment everywhere you look. Guyana has the fastest-growing economy in the world after the discovery of an estimated 11 billion barrels worth of oil off its coast. Billboards and posters throughout the capital declare that 'Essequibo is Guyana', making clear its stance on a major territorial dispute with Venezuela.
The T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final between England and India has the sense of a business trip, a three-day in-and-out: neither team is hanging around, with both due to fly to Barbados straight after Thursday's game. They will hardly leave their hotels beyond Wednesday's training sessions due to underlying concerns around security, and their strong focus on preparing for the venue's unique conditions.
England only learned on Monday afternoon that they would be coming to South America, when India confirmed their progress as group winners. They were supported by thousands of travelling fans throughout the two group stages, but there will hardly be any in Georgetown, with last-minute flights and hotel rooms nearly impossible to source.
The ICC's decision to predetermine that India would play in the second semi-final reflects the reality of cricket's economic model, which is utterly dependent on the value of broadcast rights in one dominant market. It is why every game India have played at this World Cup has started at 10.30am local time, which equates to a primetime 8pm spot for the huge television audience back home.
But that has raised questions about sporting integrity: England have been scrambling to learn more about this venue in the last 48 hours, relying heavily on their consultant coach Kieron Pollard; India, by contrast, have known for months that they would play in Guyana if they progressed this far. "I don't see this as an advantage," Rohit Sharma, their captain, insisted. "You've got to play good cricket to win a cricket game: that's how I look at it."
By contrast, England's coach Matthew Mott believes that the predetermined venue could play into India's hands. "We knew all about it from the start, and that's a decision way above my pay grade," Mott told ESPNcricinfo at Providence before England trained on Wednesday. "And to be honest, I think it could be an advantage for them."
The short turnaround to Saturday's final means there is no reserve day, although a ten-over-a-side game could start as late as 4.14pm local time, which will be 5 hours and 44 minutes after the scheduled start. The forecast has improved significantly in recent days, but there are still heavy showers anticipated; in the event of a no-result, India will qualify after topping their Super Eight group.
"It's something we've known about since the start of the tournament, so to cry foul over it now probably doesn't make a lot of sense," Mott said. "I'm not going to lie: it would be great to have a reserve day because the weather can change from day to day, but I think there will be enough time to get some cricket in… Maybe that's something the ICC need to look at, [in the] long term."
England were on the brink of elimination after losing their first completed match against Australia, and Mott believes that has been beneficial: "The advantage for us is we feel like we've had to scrap and claw our way through this tournament. Then when you get into the semi-finals, you feel really match-hardened for that cut-and-thrust of knockout stuff."
He is one of the few members of England's staff who has been to Guyana before, with his Australia side playing here in the 2018 Women's World T20. "It's a pitch where you're going to have to use your graft and your skills," Mott said. "One of the things that has come out [of England's research] is that it's actually not a huge turning ground: it's more to do with the lack of bounce where spin comes into play.
"We've certainly chatted a lot about it as a spin group, making sure that we keep the stumps in play… Pollard has been exceptional about just making sure that we stick to that sort of stuff. He's been a really strong voice in the use of the wind, and how we can use that as a batting and bowling group."
Thursday's match will be played on the central strip, Pitch No. 3, which was used for a low-scorer between Uganda and Papua New Guinea in the group stages. "It's going to be one of those games where the information-gathering is going to have to happen in those first couple of overs," Mott said. "Something that we've done really well is get that communication back and forth… it is a pretty unique facility."
England did not select their team until after their training session, and were considering a number of different options. They have picked four seamers in their last four games, but will consider replacing one with a batter against India, most likely Will Jacks.
"We feel like we've got all bases covered, and I don't think that any change is going to be massive," Mott said. "It'll be a little tweak here or there - and that could be the edge."
No other team has reached the semi-finals of the last four men's T20 World Cups, and England are chasing history: the trophy has never been successfully defended. It is a tantalising prospect for them, but the conditions mean they are underdogs on Thursday, despite the thrashing they inflicted on India at this stage of the 2022 tournament.
"We would have bitten your hand off a couple of weeks ago to get to this spot," Mott said. "There's a lot of work to do, but a lot of incentive to get through and get to that final as well - and there'd be nothing better than beating a very strong Indian team in a semi-final."
It would surely rank as one of their best T20I wins.