🔗 Share this article England's Lucky Escape - Which Problems Need Addressing? 'What direction should they take now?' Was it luck favouring England's side, or merely the unavoidable nature of scheduling a cricket tournament amid Sri Lanka's rainy period? In any case, the English team narrowly escaped against Pakistan on Wednesday - big time. The squad had been three wins from three, smoothly progressing through their initial pool matches and only winless Pakistan standing in their way to entering crunch matches against India and Australia unbeaten. It should have been straightforward progress: The English team has historically lost once to Pakistan, during a Twenty20 game back in 2013, and not once in the 50-over format. However, rather than taking momentum toward those crucial matches against the tournament favourites, they have been jolted by a shuddering wake-up call. The English side was completely dominated during twenty-five overs before the first bout of rain fell at the Colombo venue, slumping to 79-7 while Pakistani fast bowlers skillfully exploited a helpful but not unplayable surface, before the spinners got to work on England's fragile middle order. Subsequently, precipitation unfairly prevented the Pakistani team a notable victory after it cleared to give them an hour of hope with sufficient duration to reach 34-0 in pursuit of 113, The English team's relieved expressions contrasted with skipper Fatima Sana's disappointment as the Colombo outfield became submerged. This represented England's fortunate reprieve leaving them no option except to absorb its lessons. Moving forward, it's improbable they'll escape another such situation. Pakistan Expose Glaring Weakness This tournament's fixture list is tricky. Looking at England specifically, they are playing their group-stage games at four separate locations, all providing varying playing conditions demanding essentially adaptation during matches. Against Sri Lanka just four days ago, the English played on a distinct pitch but one which offered turn, bounce and very little for fast bowlers. This surface differed, while English batters did not adapt quickly enough to its characteristics. Pakistan had clear plans and executed them, constantly challenging the English team's vulnerable batting through moving the ball sharply into the right-handers. Diana Baig's dismissal against Tammy Beaumont jagged back off the seam, the opener playing an extravagant leave only to see her off-stump being disturbed. Nat Sciver-Brunt's wicket moved 2.5 degrees from the surface, not dissimilar to movement you would expect from an off-spinner, with the English captain's response with open arms 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 one moving two degrees from the surface, while another ball moved one point six degrees for Heather Knight's lbw. It was the first time in any format where England's top seven batters had all been bowled or lbw since January 1908, testament to Pakistan's discipline in targeting the stumps. By the end of England's revised 31 overs, they had faced 61 balls which would have hit the stumps. They lost eight wickets to them and scored just 23 runs. Image source: Cricket Analytics/Broadcast The Pakistani strategy was evident versus the English team - bowl straight while attempting to direct the ball toward the pads and stumps. The red dots indicate the precise locations of every successful bowling delivery India and Australia Lie in Wait 'The English team faces multiple problems' - Lamb bowled by Sadia England travel to Indore for their next two games to face their most challenging rivals against India this Sunday, and versus Australia October twenty-second. Neither are ideal opponents to encounter while batting weaknesses needing correction however the local pitches are anticipated as flatter and friendlier to batters. It was Knight's gritty determination that saved the team against Bangladesh and Sciver-Brunt's class guaranteed they achieved a winning total against Sri Lanka, yet when both departed quickly facing Pakistan, England could not recover. {"The English captain and vice-captain have accumulated greater runs collectively compared to their teammates total at this tournament," Former championship player Alex Hartley commented during match commentary. "That says something within itself, and neither of them batted in the first match. That represents a worry." Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones have faced difficulties versus moving deliveries - 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, making it improbable 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 in a tense chase against Bangladesh, a useful nineteen against Sri Lanka and she led scoring with thirty-three against Pakistan. There have been glimpses of promise from Alice Capsey at seven but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb face difficulties beginning their innings against spin in the middle order. Lamb has 18 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. While occupying top-order positions, Lamb averages 44 in 61 innings including five hundreds. These three innings here represent her initial experience batting sixth professionally in the 50-over format. Danielle Wyatt-Hodge represents England's unused batter on the bench, and played in the middle order over several seasons, so it will be interesting to see how long the Lamb experiment continues. The English team might have avoided an embarrassing slip-up here, but will be aware things are not going become less challenging. Indian and Australian teams wait. Any stumbles versus these opponents and England's campaign rapidly deteriorate.