'Where on earth do they go from here?'
Was it luck that was on the English squad, or the simple unavoidable nature of scheduling an international cricket competition during monsoon season?
In any case, England got away with one against Pakistan on Wednesday - in a major way.
They were undefeated in three matches, smoothly progressing through their initial pool matches and only winless Pakistan standing in their way to entering crucial encounters versus Indian and Australian teams unbeaten.
It should have been straightforward progress: England have only ever lost once to Pakistan, during a Twenty20 game in 2013, and not once in One Day International cricket.
However, rather than taking momentum 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 prior to the initial rainfall 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 against the vulnerable English middle batting lineup.
Subsequently, precipitation unfairly prevented the Pakistani team a notable victory once the weather improved to give them an hour of hope and enough time to achieve thirty-four without loss in pursuit of 113, The English team's relieved expressions juxtaposed by captain Fatima Sana's despondence as the Colombo outfield became submerged.
This represented England's fortunate reprieve leaving them no option but to learn from it.
From here on, it's improbable to get away with another.
Pakistani Team Reveals Obvious Vulnerability
This tournament's fixture list is tricky. Focusing particularly on England, the squad is competing in their group-stage games across four different venues, each offering different conditions which essentially requires learning on the job.
Versus the Sri Lankan team merely ninety-six hours earlier, the English played on a distinct pitch that provided turn, bounce and very little for fast bowlers. This surface differed, while English batters failed to adjust rapidly to it.
The Pakistani side possessed definite strategies 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 off the pitch, not dissimilar to movement typically seen from an off-spinner, with the English captain's response arms outstretched and a look of disbelief telling the complete story - the team likely hadn't practiced for nor expected this.
Amy Jones similarly lost her wicket to Fatima's bowling, that one moving two degrees from the surface, while another ball moved one point six degrees for Heather Knight's lbw.
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, testament to Pakistan's discipline in targeting the stumps.
Following England's reduced thirty-one over innings, the batting side encountered sixty-one deliveries that would have struck the wickets. They surrendered eight batters to these deliveries and scored just 23 runs.
The Pakistani strategy was evident versus the English team - bowl straight while attempting to direct the ball toward the leg area and wickets. The red dots indicate the point of impact by each wicket-taking delivery
India and Australia Await Their Turn
'England confronts various difficulties' - Lamb bowled by Sadia
The English squad journeys to Indore for their next two games to face their most challenging rivals in India, on Sunday, and Australia on 22 October.
Both represent difficult opposition to be facing with batting weaknesses needing correction but the pitches there are anticipated as flatter and friendlier to batters.
Heather Knight's determined approach which rescued them against Bangladesh and Sciver-Brunt's class guaranteed they achieved a winning total 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 compared to their teammates total during this competition," World Cup winner Alex Hartley said on broadcast coverage. "This statistic speaks volumes, and neither of them batted in the first match. 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 the opener against South Africa - but Charlotte Edwards' first move in charge was to show faith and reinstate Jones, and it feels unlikely she will disrupt the pair.
Following the top two batters, England's next best batter has been Charlie Dean at number eight with a steady 27 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 at seven but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb are struggling to start their batting versus spin bowling in the middle batting positions.
Lamb has 18 runs across three batting attempts 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 averages 44 in 61 innings with five centuries. These current three performances are the first she has ever played at number six professionally in One Day International cricket.
Danielle Wyatt-Hodge represents England's unused batting option on the bench, and played in the middle order for a number of years, making it intriguing to see how long the Lamb trial persists.
England may have dodged a humiliating setback here, yet remains conscious that circumstances won't to get any easier.
India and Australia await. Any wobbles against those two could see England's tournament rapidly deteriorate.
