The English team's Lucky Escape - Which Problems Require Addressing?

Was it luck favouring England's side, or the simple unavoidable nature of scheduling a cricket tournament amid Sri Lanka's rainy period?

Either way, the English team narrowly escaped against Pakistan this past Wednesday - in a major way.

They were undefeated in three matches, cruising through their initial pool matches with just winless Pakistan standing in their way to entering crucial encounters versus Indian and Australian teams without a loss.

It should have been smooth sailing: The English team has historically lost just one match against Pakistan, during a Twenty20 game in 2013, and never in the 50-over format.

But instead of taking momentum into those two big games versus the competition's top contenders, the team received a shock by a shuddering wake-up call.

The English side was completely dominated for 25 overs before the first bout of rain fell in Colombo, collapsing to seventy-nine for seven as Pakistan's seamers expertly utilised a helpful but not unplayable surface, before the spinners got to work against the vulnerable English middle batting lineup.

Subsequently, precipitation unfairly prevented the Pakistani team a notable victory after it cleared providing sixty minutes of opportunity and enough time to achieve thirty-four without loss chasing 113 runs, England's smiles of relief juxtaposed by skipper Fatima Sana's disappointment while the Colombo playing field flooded.

This was England's lucky escape leaving them no option except to absorb its lessons.

Moving forward, it's improbable to get away with another.

Pakistan Expose Obvious Vulnerability

This tournament's fixture list is tricky. Looking at England specifically, they are playing their group-stage games across four different venues, each offering different conditions which essentially requires adaptation during matches.

Versus the Sri Lankan team merely ninety-six hours earlier, the English played on a distinct pitch but one which offered spin and lift and very little for the seamers. This one was different, and England's batters did not adapt quickly enough to its characteristics.

The Pakistani side possessed definite strategies and implemented them effectively, constantly challenging the English team's vulnerable batting through moving the ball sharply into the right-handers.

Diana Baig's dismissal of Tammy Beaumont jagged back off the seam, the opening batter attempting a dramatic non-shot just to witness the ball clatter into her off stump.

Sciver-Brunt's dismissal deviated two and a half degrees off the pitch, not dissimilar to movement typically seen from an off-spinner, and the England skipper's reaction arms outstretched and a look of disbelief said it all - they probably had not prepared for or anticipated such conditions.

Amy Jones was also bowled by Fatima, that delivery deviating two degrees from the surface, while another ball moved one point six degrees resulting in Heather Knight's leg-before decision.

This marked the initial occasion in any format that an England top seven were all either bowled or leg-before since January 1908, testament to Pakistan's discipline aiming consistently at the wickets.

Following England's reduced thirty-one over innings, they had faced sixty-one deliveries which would have hit the stumps. They lost eight wickets to them and scored just 23 runs.

India and Australia Lie in Wait

The English squad journeys to Indore for their upcoming two matches to face their most challenging rivals in India, on Sunday, and versus Australia October twenty-second.

Both represent difficult opposition to be facing with batting fragilities to address but the pitches there are expected to be more even and favorable to batters.

It was Knight's gritty determination which rescued them versus Bangladesh and Sciver-Brunt's class guaranteed they achieved a winning total against Sri Lanka, yet when both departed quickly against Pakistan, the English team couldn't rebound.

{"Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have accumulated greater runs between them than their team-mates combined at this tournament," Former championship player Alex Hartley said on broadcast coverage. "That says something within itself, and neither of them batted in the first match. That represents a worry."

Beaumont and Jones have struggled against the swinging ball - partnerships of six, twenty-four and thirteen after pursuing only seventy runs in their initial match versus South Africa - but Charlotte Edwards' first move was to demonstrate confidence and re-promote Jones, and it feels unlikely she'll separate the combination.

Following the top two batters, the team's third-most productive player has been Charlie Dean at number eight with a steady 27 not out during a nervous run-chase versus Bangladesh, a useful nineteen against Sri Lanka and she top-scored with 33 against Pakistan.

There have been glimpses of promise from Alice Capsey at seven however Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb face difficulties beginning their innings against spin in the middle order.

Emma Lamb has accumulated eighteen runs across three batting attempts while Sophia Dunkley managed twenty-nine, each of their dismissals to spin, with the former being asked to play an unfamiliar role.

When batting in the top three, Lamb averages 44 over sixty-one innings with five centuries. These current three performances represent her initial experience at number six professionally in One Day International cricket.

Danielle Wyatt-Hodge represents England's unused batter on the bench, and played in the middle order for a number of years, so it will be interesting to observe the duration the Lamb trial persists.

The English team might have avoided a humiliating setback here, but will be aware things are not going to get any easier.

India and Australia await. Any wobbles against those two and England's campaign rapidly deteriorate.