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Could it have been fortune favouring the English squad, or the simple inevitability of scheduling an international cricket competition during monsoon season?

In any case, the English team narrowly escaped versus their Pakistani opponents this past Wednesday - big time.

The squad had been three wins from three, smoothly progressing through the group stage with just winless Pakistan blocking their path to entering crucial encounters versus Indian and Australian teams unbeaten.

It should have been smooth sailing: England have only ever lost just one match against Pakistan, in a T20 in 2013, and never in One Day International cricket.

But instead of taking momentum toward those crucial matches versus the competition's top contenders, they have been jolted through a startling reality check.

The English side was completely dominated for 25 overs before the first bout of rain fell at the Colombo venue, slumping to 79-7 as Pakistan's seamers expertly utilised a challenging yet manageable pitch, followed by spin bowlers taking over against the vulnerable English middle batting lineup.

Subsequently, precipitation unfairly prevented Pakistan a famous win once the weather improved to give them an hour of hope and enough time to reach 34-0 in pursuit of 113, The English team's relieved expressions contrasted with 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.

From here on, they are unlikely to get away with another.

Pakistan Expose Obvious Vulnerability

This tournament's fixture list presents challenges. 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 just four days ago, the English played on a distinct pitch that provided spin and lift with minimal assistance for the seamers. This surface differed, while English batters did not adapt quickly enough to its characteristics.

Pakistan had clear plans and implemented them effectively, constantly challenging the English team's vulnerable batting by nipping the ball into the right-handers.

Diana Baig's successful delivery of Tammy Beaumont deviated dramatically off the pitch, the opening batter attempting an extravagant leave only to see the ball clatter into her off stump.

Sciver-Brunt's dismissal deviated two and a half degrees off the pitch, comparable to the turn typically seen from off-spin bowling, and the England skipper's reaction arms outstretched and astonished expression telling the complete story - the team likely hadn't practiced for or anticipated such conditions.

Amy Jones was also bowled to Fatima's bowling, that one moving two degrees off the pitch, and the ball shaped 1.6 degrees resulting in Heather Knight's leg-before decision.

It was the first time across all cricket formats that an England top seven were all either bowled or leg-before since early twentieth century, demonstrating Pakistani bowling accuracy in targeting the stumps.

By the end of England's revised 31 overs, the batting side encountered sixty-one deliveries which would have hit the stumps. They lost eight wickets to these deliveries and scored just 23 runs.

Image source: Cricket Analytics/Broadcast

India and Australia Await Their Turn

England travel to Indore for their upcoming two matches to take on their toughest opponents in India, on Sunday, and Australia on 22 October.

Neither are ideal opponents to be facing with batting weaknesses needing correction however the local pitches are anticipated as flatter and friendlier to batters.

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

{"Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have scored more runs collectively compared to their teammates total at this tournament," World Cup winner Alex Hartley commented during match commentary. "This statistic speaks volumes, and both were absent during the opening game. That is a concern."

Beaumont and Jones have struggled against the swinging ball - partnerships of six, twenty-four and thirteen following the chase of just 70 in their initial match versus South Africa - but Charlotte Edwards' first move in charge was to show faith 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 scoring a solid twenty-seven not out in a tense chase against Bangladesh, a handy 19 against Sri Lanka and she led scoring with thirty-three versus Pakistan.

Occasional signs of potential from Alice Capsey batting seventh however Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb face difficulties beginning their innings against spin in the middle batting positions.

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.

When batting in the top three, Lamb maintains a forty-four average in 61 innings with five centuries. These current three performances are the first she has ever played batting sixth professionally in the 50-over format.

Danielle Wyatt-Hodge represents England's unused batting option on the bench, having previously batted in middle positions for a number of years, making it intriguing to observe the duration the Lamb experiment continues.

The English team might have avoided an embarrassing slip-up in this instance, but will be aware that circumstances won't to get any easier.

Indian and Australian teams wait. Any wobbles against those two could see England's tournament rapidly deteriorate.