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‘Where on earth do they go from here?’
Was it fortune smiling upon England, or simply the predictable consequence of scheduling a cricket tournament in Sri Lanka during the monsoon season?
Regardless, England narrowly avoided defeat against Pakistan on Wednesday, a truly close call.
Entering the match with three consecutive wins, England was poised to cruise through the group stage. Only a winless Pakistan stood between them and an unblemished record heading into crucial matches against India and Australia.
It appeared to be a straightforward task, considering England’s historical dominance over Pakistan, having lost only once in a T20 encounter in 2013 and never in the 50-over format.
However, instead of building momentum for the upcoming clashes against tournament favorites, England received a jarring wake-up call.
Pakistan thoroughly outplayed England for 25 overs before the first rain interruption in Colombo. England slumped to 79-7 as Pakistan’s seam bowlers expertly exploited a helpful, yet not unplayable, surface, before the spinners further dismantled England’s fragile middle order.
The rain then cruelly denied Pakistan a well-deserved victory. After the skies cleared, an hour of hope emerged, providing enough time to reach 34-0 in pursuit of 113. England’s relieved smiles contrasted sharply with captain Fatima Sana’s despondency as the Colombo outfield became submerged.
This was undoubtedly a fortunate escape for England, and they must learn from this experience.
Moving forward, they are unlikely to be granted another such reprieve.
Rain rescues England from shock defeat against Pakistan
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The World Cup schedule presents unique challenges. Focusing on England, their group-stage matches are spread across four different venues, each offering distinct conditions that necessitate adaptability on the fly.
Just four days prior, against Sri Lanka, England encountered a different surface characterized by turn, bounce, and limited assistance for seamers. This match presented a different challenge, and England’s batters failed to adjust swiftly enough.
Pakistan executed clear plans with precision, consistently targeting England’s vulnerable defenses by angling the ball into the right-handers.
Diana Baig’s dismissal of Tammy Beaumont saw the ball jag back off the seam, with the opener misjudging the leave, resulting in the ball crashing into her off stump.
Sciver-Brunt’s dismissal featured movement of 2.5 degrees off the pitch, akin to that expected from an off-spinner. The England captain’s reaction, marked by open arms and disbelief, underscored the team’s lack of preparation for such conditions.
Amy Jones was also bowled by Fatima, with the ball moving two degrees off the pitch, while Heather Knight’s lbw saw the ball shape 1.6 degrees.
Notably, this marked the first instance since January 1908 in any format that England’s top seven batters were all dismissed either bowled or lbw, highlighting Pakistan’s disciplined targeting of the stumps.
By the end of England’s revised 31 overs, they had faced 61 balls that would have struck the stumps, losing eight wickets and scoring just 23 runs.
Pakistan’s tactics against England were evident: bowl straight and attempt to angle the ball back into the pads and stumps. The red dots indicate the point of impact by each wicket-taking delivery
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‘England are in all sorts of trouble here’ – Lamb bowled by Sadia
England’s next two matches take place in Indore, where they will face formidable opponents in India on Sunday and Australia on October 22.
Facing these opponents with existing batting vulnerabilities is far from ideal. However, the pitches in Indore are expected to be flatter and more conducive to batting.
Heather Knight’s resolute performance rescued England against Bangladesh, while Nat Sciver-Brunt’s class ensured a winning total against Sri Lanka. However, when both fell early against Pakistan, England failed to recover.
“Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have collectively scored more runs than their teammates combined at this tournament,” noted World Cup winner Alex Hartley on BBC Test Match Special.
“That in itself is telling, especially considering neither of them batted in the first match. It is a cause for concern.”
Beaumont and Jones have struggled against the swinging ball, evidenced by stands of six, 24, and 13 following the chase of just 70 in the opener against South Africa. However, Charlotte Edwards’ initial decision as coach was to demonstrate faith and re-promote Jones, making it unlikely that she will disrupt the pair.
After Sciver-Brunt and Knight, England’s next most productive batter has been number eight Charlie Dean, with a composed 27 not out in a tense chase against Bangladesh, a useful 19 against Sri Lanka, and a top score of 33 against Pakistan.
Alice Capsey has shown glimpses of promise at seven, but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb are struggling to establish their innings against spin in the middle order.
Lamb has accumulated 18 runs in three innings, while Dunkley has 29, with each dismissal attributed to spin, and the former being asked to fulfill an unfamiliar role.
When batting in the top three in domestic and international cricket, Lamb averages 44 in 61 innings with five centuries. These three innings represent the first time she has batted at number six professionally in the 50-over format.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge remains England’s unused batter on the bench, having played in the middle order for several years. It will be intriguing to observe how long the Lamb experiment continues.
England may have narrowly avoided an embarrassing setback, but they are aware that the challenges ahead will only intensify.
India and Australia await. Any stumbles against these two powerhouses could quickly derail England’s campaign.
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