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Could it have been fortune that was on the English squad, or merely the inevitability of scheduling an international cricket competition during monsoon season?

In any case, the English team narrowly escaped against Pakistan this past Wednesday - big time.

They were three wins from three, cruising through their initial pool matches and only winless Pakistan standing in their way from going into crunch matches against India and Australia without a loss.

This should have represented smooth sailing: The English team has historically lost just one match against Pakistan, in a T20 back in 2013, and not once in the 50-over format.

However, rather than carrying forward their winning form into those two big games against the tournament favourites, the team received a shock by a shuddering wake-up call.

The English side was completely dominated during twenty-five overs before the first bout of rain fell in Colombo, slumping to 79-7 while Pakistani fast bowlers skillfully exploited a helpful but not unplayable surface, before the spinners got to work against the vulnerable English middle batting lineup.

Then the rain cruelly denied Pakistan a famous win once the weather improved 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 while the Colombo playing field flooded.

This represented England's fortunate reprieve and they have no choice except to absorb its lessons.

From here on, it's improbable to get away with another.

Pakistani Team Reveals Glaring Weakness

This tournament's fixture list presents challenges. Focusing particularly on England, they are playing their preliminary matches at four separate locations, all providing varying playing conditions which essentially requires adaptation during matches.

Against Sri Lanka just four days ago, England were on a different surface that provided turn, bounce and very little for the seamers. This one was different, while English batters did not adapt quickly enough to it.

The Pakistani side possessed definite strategies and executed them, consistently testing the English team's vulnerable batting through moving the ball sharply toward right-handed batters.

Diana Baig's successful delivery of Tammy Beaumont deviated dramatically off the pitch, the opening batter attempting a dramatic non-shot only to see her off-stump being disturbed.

Nat Sciver-Brunt's wicket moved 2.5 degrees off the pitch, comparable to the turn you would expect from off-spin bowling, with the English captain's response with open arms and astonished expression telling the complete story - 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, and the ball shaped 1.6 degrees resulting in Heather Knight's leg-before decision.

This marked the initial occasion across all cricket formats that an England top seven had all been bowled or lbw since early twentieth century, testament to Pakistan's discipline aiming consistently at the wickets.

Following England's reduced thirty-one over innings, the batting side encountered sixty-one deliveries which would have hit the stumps. They lost eight wickets to them while managing only twenty-three runs.

Image source: Cricket Analytics/Broadcast

India and Australia Await Their Turn

The English squad journeys to Indore for their next two games to take on their toughest opponents against India this Sunday, and Australia on 22 October.

Both represent difficult opposition to be facing with batting fragilities to address however the local pitches are anticipated as more even and favorable to batters.

It was Knight's gritty determination which rescued them against Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's quality guaranteed they achieved a winning total against the Sri Lankan side, 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 during this competition," World Cup winner Alex Hartley said during match commentary. "That says something within itself, and both were absent in the first match. That is a concern."

Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones have faced difficulties against the swinging ball - stands of six, 24 and 13 following the chase of just 70 in their initial match versus South Africa - however the coach's initial decision was to demonstrate confidence and reinstate Jones, making it improbable she'll separate the combination.

After Sciver-Brunt and Knight, 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 but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb face difficulties beginning their batting versus spin bowling in the middle order.

Lamb has 18 runs in three innings while Sophia Dunkley managed twenty-nine, both losing their wickets to spin, with Lamb being required to perform an unaccustomed position.

While occupying top-order positions, Lamb averages 44 over sixty-one 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, having previously batted in middle positions for a number of years, so it will be interesting to observe the duration the Lamb experiment continues.

The English team might have avoided an embarrassing slip-up in this instance, yet remains conscious things are not going to get any easier.

India and Australia await. Any wobbles against those two could see England's tournament could quickly fall flat.