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Could it have been fortune favouring the English squad, or the simple unavoidable nature of scheduling a cricket tournament during monsoon season?

In any case, the English team narrowly escaped versus their Pakistani opponents on Wednesday - in a major way.

The squad had been undefeated in three matches, cruising through their initial pool matches with just a struggling Pakistani side blocking their path from going into crunch matches versus Indian and Australian teams unbeaten.

This should have represented smooth sailing: The English team has historically lost once to Pakistan, during a Twenty20 game back in 2013, and never in the 50-over format.

But instead of taking momentum toward those crucial matches versus the competition's top contenders, they have been jolted by a shuddering wake-up call.

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, before the spinners got to work on England's fragile middle order.

Then the rain cruelly denied 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 but to learn from it.

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

Pakistan Expose Glaring Weakness

The schedule for this World Cup presents challenges. Focusing particularly on England, the squad is competing in their group-stage games across four different venues, each offering different conditions which essentially requires adaptation during matches.

Against Sri Lanka merely ninety-six hours earlier, England were on a different surface but one which offered spin and lift and very little for fast bowlers. This one was different, while English batters failed to adjust rapidly to it.

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

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

Nat Sciver-Brunt's wicket moved 2.5 degrees from the surface, not dissimilar to movement typically seen from off-spin bowling, with the English captain's response arms outstretched and a look of disbelief telling the complete story - the team likely hadn't practiced for or anticipated such conditions.

Amy Jones similarly lost her wicket 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.

This marked the initial occasion in any format where England's top seven batters had all been bowled or lbw since January 1908, demonstrating Pakistani bowling accuracy in targeting the stumps.

By the end of England's revised 31 overs, the batting side encountered 61 balls 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 Lie in Wait

The English squad journeys to Indore for their upcoming two matches to face their most challenging rivals against India this Sunday, and Australia on 22 October.

Neither are ideal opponents to encounter while batting weaknesses needing correction but the pitches there are expected to be more even and favorable to batters.

It was Knight's gritty determination that saved the team versus Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's quality guaranteed they achieved a winning total against the Sri Lankan side, yet when both departed quickly against 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 said on broadcast coverage. "This statistic speaks volumes, and both were absent 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 - 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, England's next best batter has been Charlie Dean at number eight scoring a solid twenty-seven not out during a nervous run-chase versus Bangladesh, a handy 19 against Sri Lanka and she led scoring with thirty-three against Pakistan.

Occasional signs of potential from Alice Capsey batting seventh but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb are struggling to start their innings against spin in the middle batting positions.

Emma Lamb has accumulated eighteen runs across three batting attempts while Dunkley has 29, both losing their wickets to spin, with the former being asked to perform an unaccustomed position.

When batting in the top three, Lamb maintains a forty-four average over sixty-one innings including five hundreds. These current three performances represent her initial experience batting sixth professionally in the 50-over format.

Danielle Wyatt-Hodge represents England's unused batting option among substitutes, and played in the middle order over several seasons, making it intriguing to observe the duration the Lamb experiment continues.

England may have dodged an embarrassing slip-up here, but will be aware things are not going to get any easier.

Indian and Australian teams wait. Any stumbles versus these opponents and England's campaign could quickly fall flat.