Stand-in captain Charlie Dean has stepped up to defend England's decision to pull players from domestic matches for an army bootcamp, insisting the bonding experience was essential for World Cup preparation.

The 15-player T20 World Cup squad traded their whites for combat gear at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst last week, missing a round of One-Day Cup fixtures. It wasn't the first time either—players had already skipped matches earlier in the season for training sessions at Loughborough.

"Missing a game or two doesn't feel like too much of a detriment when we really feel like that was productive for us," Dean told BBC Sport. "We felt we really needed to gel together and move forward as one. The camp has allowed that to happen, to really get some group cohesion."

The timing makes sense. England haven't played competitive cricket since October, spending the winter in internal training camps where spots on the World Cup roster were on the line. That pressure cooker environment, Dean explained, made it tough to build team unity. The army camp changed that.

"We've had camps throughout the winter where we've probably been fighting for places," she said. "That pressure of trying to get into the squad for the T20 World Cup creates a tough environment. We want to win a World Cup—that's our goal this summer."

England's men have used similar bonding trips before big series, including a pre-Ashes stint in Germany ahead of their famous 2010-11 victory in Australia. That trip famously saw James Anderson suffer a broken rib during a boxing session with Chris Tremlett.

Dean will lead England for the first time on Sunday at Chester-le-Street in the opening ODI against New Zealand, stepping in for the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt. It's a big moment for the off-spinner, who becomes the 20th woman to captain England in one-day internationals—and a perfect test of that newfound team chemistry.