Crisp, clean and nigh on brutal at times. Chris Woakes' virtuoso 78 in the fourth one-day international defeat to Australia epitomised the never-lie-down spirit that England will need in spades in their 2019 World Cup campaign.
With the series already won after Sunday's victory in Sydney - where Jos Buttler's pyrotechnics rather eclipsed Woakes' crafted, unbeaten half-century - England might easily have folded after imploding to 8-5 at the Adelaide Oval.
Yet with the scorecard resembling a fairground shooting gallery, Woakes swam against the tide of ducks and kept England just about afloat with an array of powerful, yet orthodox cricket shots in a half-century that took him beyond 1,000 career ODI runs in his 71st match.
Since the 2015 World Cup, no player batting at eight or below has scored more runs in ODIs - Woakes' tally amounting to 587 runs in 35 matches at 45.15 - and in this series the Warwickshire all-rounder has hit more than both Joe Root and Jos Buttler, his tally for the tourists only surpassed by Jason Roy whose form has faded after a magnificent 180 at Melbourne.
For a player whose potency has been repeatedly hampered by a side injury since his coming of age on the international scene in 2016, an Ashes series in which he averaged 16 with the bat and 49 with the ball proving particularly trying, it's a timely return to form particularly with the Indian Premier League auction imminent.
Woakes proved an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign last year after being purchased for a lofty £500,000, vying for the Purple Cap for the greater part of the tournament before - like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler - being recalled by England ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.
If 17 wickets at 22.70 apiece - including a best of 3-6 as Kolkata demolished Bangalore for just 49 runs - represents a decent return, the chance to play repeatedly in high-profile games in front of immense crowds is an opportunity that Nasser Hussain says can only help a player's development.
"The one thing England haven't totally got to grips with is winning big knock-out matches," says the Sky Sports commentator in his IPL auction preview. "The more English players we have playing in IPL and getting to the knockout stages, with the pressure of millions watching, should only make them better cricketers."
And, just to be clear, Woakes was adamant that last year's IPL stint was not to blame for the side injury which brought a premature end to his ICC Champions Trophy campaign - the 28-year-old walking off the field against Bangladesh in the tournament opener after failing to complete even two overs.
While he may not yet be bowling with quite the same, consistent zip harnessed against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2016, the transition from Test to ODI cricket has helped Woakes rediscover fluency.
England's commitment to an attacking batting philosophy is unwavering, so the need for gutsy knocks down the order is paramount - not least in the knockout stages of a major international competition where one top-order implosion can derail years of preparation.
In Adelaide, with the trophy already won, the dangers of going hard at the ball on a pitch offering Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins extra nip and movement, were highlighted ruthlessly.
Joe Root's top-edged pull epitomised England's over-aggression and, with Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali in scratchy form, Woakes took up the mantle in convincing fashion, chipping Adam Zampa over extra cover for four early in his innings before pumping the spinner over long on for the first of four sixes - positive mayhem after England failed to score a boundary in the first 14 overs.
Mitchell Marsh got similar treatment, Woakes striking him high over midwicket to bring up a fifty-run stand with Ali, of which the left-hander contributed just 10, before becoming the first player to hit successive ODI fifties batting at eight.
Another six, off Marcus Stoinis, appeared effortless and when Woakes did pick out the substitute fielder Glenn Maxwell at long-on it was in a selfless quest to get England past 200 when a more measured stroke would have brought that elusive first ODI century a few runs closer.
That milestone will no doubt come - on current form very soon, given the opportunity to bat long - and when it does it'll be rich reward for an oft under-rated player who might just prove England's trump card on home turf when the World Cup rolls around.