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Could it have been fortune favouring England's side, or merely the unavoidable nature of scheduling an international cricket competition amid Sri Lanka's rainy period?

In any case, England got away with one versus their Pakistani opponents on Wednesday - big time.

The squad had been undefeated in three matches, cruising through their initial pool matches with just winless Pakistan blocking their path to entering crucial encounters versus Indian and Australian teams without a loss.

It should have been smooth sailing: England have only ever lost once to Pakistan, in a T20 back in 2013, and not once in One Day International cricket.

But instead of taking momentum toward those crucial matches 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 at the Colombo venue, collapsing to seventy-nine for seven as Pakistan's seamers expertly utilised a helpful but not unplayable surface, followed by spin bowlers taking over on England's fragile middle order.

Then the rain cruelly denied 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, 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 but to learn from it.

From here on, it's improbable they'll escape another such situation.

Pakistan Expose Glaring Weakness

This tournament's fixture list presents challenges. Looking at England specifically, the squad is competing in 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, the English played on a distinct pitch but one which offered spin and lift and very little for the seamers. This one was different, while English batters did not adapt quickly enough to it.

Pakistan had clear plans and implemented them effectively, consistently testing England's fragile defences through moving the ball sharply into the right-handers.

Diana Baig's dismissal against Tammy Beaumont jagged back off the seam, the opener playing a dramatic non-shot only to see her off-stump being disturbed.

Sciver-Brunt's dismissal moved 2.5 degrees from the surface, comparable to the turn you would expect from an off-spinner, with the English captain's response arms outstretched and astonished expression said it all - they probably had not prepared for nor expected this.

Amy Jones was also bowled to Fatima's bowling, that one moving two degrees off the pitch, and the ball shaped one point six 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 January 1908, testament to Pakistan's discipline in targeting the stumps.

Following England's reduced thirty-one over innings, they had faced sixty-one deliveries that would have struck the wickets. They lost eight wickets to these deliveries while managing only twenty-three runs.

Image source: Cricket Analytics/Broadcast

Australian and Indian Teams Await Their Turn

England travel to Indore for their upcoming two matches 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 but the pitches there 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 ensured they posted a competitive score against Sri Lanka, yet when both departed quickly against Pakistan, England could not recover.

{"Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have scored more runs between them than their team-mates combined during this competition," Former championship player Alex Hartley said during match commentary. "That says something within itself, and neither of them batted in the first match. That is a concern."

Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones have faced difficulties versus moving deliveries - stands of six, 24 and 13 after pursuing only seventy runs in their initial match versus South Africa - however the coach's initial decision in charge was to show faith and reinstate Jones, making it improbable she'll separate the combination.

After Sciver-Brunt and Knight, England's next best batter has been number eight Charlie Dean 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 at seven but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb face difficulties beginning their batting versus spin bowling in the middle batting positions.

Lamb has 18 runs in three innings while Sophia Dunkley managed twenty-nine, both losing their wickets to spin, with the former being asked to play an unfamiliar role.

While occupying top-order positions, Lamb maintains a forty-four average in 61 innings with five centuries. These three innings here are the first she has ever played at number six professionally in the 50-over format.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge is England's unused batting option on the bench, having previously batted in middle positions over several seasons, making it intriguing to observe the duration the Lamb experiment continues.

England may have dodged a humiliating setback here, yet remains conscious things are not going to get any easier.

India and Australia await. Any stumbles versus these opponents could see England's tournament could quickly fall flat.