Graeme Swann survived a minor injury scare during England's practice session in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

An elastic resistance band used during training came loose and struck him on his right forearm.

After being patched up, he resumed the session, going on to bowl and then bat as England's preparations looked on track ahead of their opening warm-up game against the Diamond Eagles on Friday.

Meanwhile, returning England paceman Sajid Mahmood says he does not believe that he was thrown into international cricket too early, insisting that his initial opportunity afforded him a chance to fine-tune his trade.

The Lancashire bowler is in line for a first appearance for his country since the 2007 World Cup after being named in the squad for the limited-overs leg of their tour to South Africa.

Mahmood, who has taken 29 wickets in his 25 one-day internationals, was handed his first opportunity at the highest level in 2004 by then-coach Duncan Fletcher.

After struggling in his first game against New Zealand at Bristol - he ended with figures of none for 56 in seven overs - he found himself out in the cold, before his next appearance 21 months later during a trip to India.

A Test induction was to follow for the 27-year-old and, after impressing against Sri Lanka, he found himself playing in three Ashes Tests in Australia during the following winter.

"I actually enjoyed it (making my debut early), to be honest, because it almost showed me where I need to be to perform at that level," he said. "To be involved in an Ashes series, away from home, in their own back yard and when they were the number one team in the world, almost gave me a benchmark as to where I need to be.

"To experience that so early in my career, I think helped me a lot. Because obviously, going back, it almost gave me chance to reflect on that and gave me a benchmark to see that I wasn't probably mentally ready to be there.

"I wasn't consistent enough and now I've gone back, worked on those things and I think I'm ready now. I think I've matured a lot as a bowler and as a person, so I think I'm ready."

Mahmood, who forced his way back into England contention after a solid domestic one-day season where he took 24 wickets in 16 matches, revealed that a change of focus over the past two years has been one of the keys to his revival.

He continued: "When I first started, I thought the game was quite simple. All I wanted to do was try bowling quick and I thought I'd just get wickets.

"I think I worried too much about pace and that's where the waywardness and inconsistency came into things. Now it's a lot more about trying to hit an area and being more rhythmical.

"Playing this game, you're bowling against some world-class batsmen. There's quite a few 90 mile per hour bowlers around and batsmen are now used to that.

"So you're going to have something different as well. You've got to be able to swing it or nip it around or be hitting an area on a consistent basis, putting the batters under pressure hoping they make a mistake.

"Like I said, I've now learned over the last couple of years that it's not all about pace, you've got to do something else."

Mahmood, who has been confined to Lions duty in recent seasons, could feature for England as early as next Friday when they face the Proteas in the first of two Twenty20 internationals and he admits that his recall could be a stepping stone for bigger things.

He added: "My main ambition is to play Test cricket for England and get back into that team. But my first task is here in the one-day squad.

"I know that if I do well here and if the chance arises then fantastic. But I think I've just got to perform and show what I can do in the one-day series and then take things from there."