There was a silver lining to the clouds that encircled Colombo – from an English perspective, at least.
Pakistan’s hopes of a maiden Women’s World Cup victory over England – and their first win of the tournament – were washed away as incessant rain came to the rescue of Nat Sciver-Brunt’s floundering side.
It spared England’s unbeaten run, with the spoils shared after the match was abandoned, but their collapse with the bat raised serious questions about their World Cup-winning credentials heading into a pivotal stage of the tournament.
With hosts India up next and tournament favourites Australia to follow, the nature of England’s capitulation – plummeting to 79-7 inside 25 overs – will have set alarm bells ringing, regardless of the fact they avoided defeat.
After scoring a century against Sri Lanka in the previous game, Sciver-Brunt’s innings came to a swift end as she was dismissed for four – and she delivered a brutally honest assessment of her own and England’s performance.
“After the rain break we batted well to give ourselves a chance, but we weren’t very good today – weren’t good enough,” the England captain said. “We’ll hold our hands up.”
Optimism was high as England bounded into their fourth World Cup assignment on the back of three straight wins.
South Africa had proven no match, crumbling at the hands of England’s spinners in match one. Bangladesh proved a tougher nut to crack, but Heather Knight showed England had the bottle to overcome adversity with a match-winning innings, while Sciver-Brunt’s run-a-ball century inspired victory over Sri Lanka.
The ingredients were there for England to climb back to the top of the standings with another win at the expense of winless Pakistan but what transpired was an alarming return to type.
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Highlights from the Women’s Cricket World Cup match in Colombo as rain denied Pakistan a famous victory over England
With Knight and Sciver-Brunt falling early to Pakistan captain Fatima Rana, opportunity knocked for England’s middle order to step up. But they were found wanting, as the wickets of Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb and Alice Capsey fell for just 31 runs.
Asked what lessons could be learned, Sciver-Brunt said: “Probably adapting as quickly as possible. It was seaming quite a lot, the wicket, so I guess it’s about putting plans in place to nullify that threat.
“After the powerplay, they were picking up wickets – bowled, lbw – stopping us from building any partnerships at all.”
England’s next match is against India in Indore on Sunday, and concerns linger over the form of several players.
There is also illness in the camp, with Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Bell sitting out the fixture in Colombo – a situation worth monitoring, with hopes it is not something that could ripple through the squad.
“I think everyone’s practising really well,” said Sciver-Brunt. “They’re going through their processes and working out their own ‘how’ on each wicket.
“I guess it’s about finding your own individual way of doing the same things you would do in practice.”
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Pakistan made a strong start as they tore through England’s top order
Aside from the obvious positive of avoiding defeat, there were silver linings to be found as the rain poured in Colombo.
Pakistan’s results at this World Cup have clearly belied their quality. Yes, England were expected to beat them, but having had Australia on the ropes and pushed India close, perhaps it was only a matter of time before everything clicked into place.
The doom and gloom that descended as the heavens opened should not cloud England’s overall campaign.
There is even a case to be made that such an abject performance came at the right time – allowing England to flush it from their system ahead of the pivotal clashes with India and Australia, and the knockout stages, which they remain on course to reach.
England leave Colombo with plenty of food for thought – lessons that must be absorbed if their World Cup ambitions are to be realised.
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