England start as firm favourites against Pakistan in Women's World Cup game

Colombo, Oct 14 (PTI) On a roll after three commanding wins on the trot, England seem to be at a different level, and a listless Pakistan are unlikely to pose a major challenge when the two teams clash in their ICC Women's World Cup match here on Wednesday.

Three one-sided wins, beginning with the 10-wicket decimation of South Africa, have taken England in a zone and Nat Sciver-Brunt's team would be hoping to gain further momentum before they clash against the big three -- India, Australia and New Zealand -- in the league stage.

Sciver-Brunt has led from the front so far with the skipper showing the kind of devastation she can wreak on the opposition with the bat and ball. The 33-year-old right-hander smashed a run-a-ball 117 and took two wickets with her unsettling pace as England defeated co-hosts Sri Lanka by 89 runs.

With a batting unit having the likes of Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight and Sophia Dunkley besides Sciver-Brunt herself, it's no surprise the team is placed second on the table with six points behind seven-time champions Australia, who are on seven points.

They will get a chance to go to the top of the table, with Pakistan, who are playing all their games in Colombo, looking like amateurs without proper planning, tactic or technique.

England have shown how quickly they can acclimatise to different venues and pitches, having played their two opening games against South Africa and Bangladesh in Guwahati and then flying down to Colombo to play against Sri Lanka.

If Sri Lanka felt they could pin England with their army of slow bowlers, they were mistaken as Sciver-Brunt's side beat them at their own game with left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone being at her absolute best, taking four wickets on a pitch the co-hosts were expected to dominate.

England, sensing that scoring would be tough, altered their strategy by not allowing the spinners to settle down even though they lost a handful of wickets in the process.

"Not letting spinners settle and using the lap sweeps, it's good to have that in your armoury," Sciver-Brunt had said after her match-winning knock on a pitch that was slow and had inconsistent bounce.

Sciver-Brunt and her key batters would use the same strategy of being "precise" with their shots and "scoring down the ground" against Pakistan, who too would rely on their spinners to make a dent in the England side.

England, though, will need to iron out their problem of losing wickets in a heap in the middle and late-order, as was the case against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The four-time World Cup winners won't be able to afford such luxury against battle-hardened India, New Zealand and Australia.

For Pakistan, languishing at the bottom with three losses in as many games, their batters have struggled big time, while the bowlers, especially Marufa Akter and Shorna Akter, have given commendable performances.

They have crossed 150 only once so far, with the other two scores being in the early 100s. Led by stalwart Fatima Sana, Pakistan could take a lesson in comebacks from South Africa, who, after being dismissed for 69 against England and losing by 10 wickets, have bounced back into contention.

The Teams (From): ============ Engand: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Pakistan: Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Syeda Aroob Shah.

Match starts at 3:00pm IST. PTI AM AM PDS PDS