'What direction should they take now?'
Could it have been fortune favouring England's side, or the simple unavoidable nature of scheduling a cricket tournament amid Sri Lanka's rainy period?
In any case, England got away with one against Pakistan this past Wednesday - big time.
The squad had been undefeated in three matches, smoothly progressing through the group stage with just winless Pakistan blocking their path from going into crucial encounters versus Indian and Australian teams unbeaten.
It should have been smooth sailing: England have only ever lost just one match against Pakistan, in a T20 in 2013, and not once in the 50-over format.
However, rather than taking momentum into those two big games against the tournament favourites, they have been jolted through a startling reality check.
The English side was completely dominated during twenty-five overs before the first bout of rain fell in Colombo, slumping to 79-7 while Pakistani fast bowlers skillfully exploited a challenging yet manageable pitch, before the spinners got to work on England's fragile middle order.
Then the rain cruelly denied the Pakistani team a notable victory once the weather improved providing sixty minutes of opportunity with sufficient duration to achieve thirty-four without loss in pursuit of 113, The English team's relieved expressions juxtaposed by skipper Fatima Sana's disappointment while the Colombo playing field flooded.
This was England's lucky escape 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
The schedule for this World Cup is tricky. Looking at England specifically, they are playing their preliminary matches at four separate locations, 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 turn, bounce with minimal assistance for the seamers. This one was different, while English batters did not adapt quickly enough to its characteristics.
Pakistan had clear plans and implemented them effectively, constantly challenging the English team's vulnerable batting through moving the ball sharply into the right-handers.
Diana Baig's successful delivery of Tammy Beaumont jagged back off the seam, the opening batter attempting 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 off-spin bowling, with the English captain's response with open arms and a look of disbelief telling the complete story - they probably had not prepared for nor expected this.
Amy Jones similarly lost her wicket by Fatima, that one moving two degrees off the pitch, while another ball moved 1.6 degrees resulting in Heather Knight's leg-before decision.
It was the first time in any format where England's top seven batters had all been bowled or lbw since early twentieth century, testament to Pakistan's discipline aiming consistently at the wickets.
By the end of England's revised 31 overs, the batting side encountered 61 balls which would have hit the stumps. They surrendered eight batters to them while managing only twenty-three runs.
The Pakistani strategy was evident against England - deliver straight balls while attempting to direct the ball toward the pads and stumps. The red dots indicate the precise locations by each wicket-taking delivery
Australian and Indian Teams Lie in Wait
'England are in all sorts of trouble here' - Lamb bowled by Sadia
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 expected to be flatter and friendlier to batters.
It was Knight's gritty determination that saved the team against Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's quality ensured they posted a winning total against Sri Lanka, yet when both departed quickly against Pakistan, the English team couldn't rebound.
{"Nat Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight have scored more runs between them compared to their teammates total during this competition," Former championship player Alex Hartley commented 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 - partnerships of six, twenty-four and thirteen after pursuing only seventy runs in the opener against South Africa - however the coach's initial decision in charge was to show faith and re-promote 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 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 versus Pakistan.
There have been glimpses of promise from Alice Capsey batting seventh but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb are struggling to start their innings against spin in the middle order.
Emma Lamb has accumulated eighteen runs in three innings while Dunkley has 29, both losing their wickets to spin, with Lamb being required 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 three innings here represent her initial experience batting sixth professionally in One Day International cricket.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge is England's unused batter on the bench, having previously batted in middle positions for a number of years, so it will be interesting 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.
Indian and Australian teams wait. Any wobbles against those two could see England's tournament could quickly fall flat.
