Women’s World Cup | Tall order for Pakistan as it takes on high-flying England

The search for those elusive first points will tug hard at the few threads Pakistan is holding on to at the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025.

Coming off three losses in as many games, the bottom-placed team faces high-flying England at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Wednesday, with survival on the line.

A week ago, against Australia, the Fatima Sana-led side looked poised to pull off an unheralded win, but the defending champion snuffed out the dream in quick time. Beth Mooney’s quiet perseverance turned the tide, and the spirit in the Pakistan camp seemed to fade long before the Aussie bowlers completed the demolition.

For Fatima, the bigger task at hand will be to regroup and rekindle the spark that showed promise. While Pakistan’s bowlers have managed early breakthroughs with relative ease, their inability to stem the flow of runs in the latter stages has cost the team dearly.

Against an English side that struggles against spin, Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal need to be wisely employed. The left-arm orthodox pair will test some of England’s best right-handers, with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt’s wicket being the ultimate prize.

Sciver-Brunt, fresh off a century, will draw more confidence from her impressive record against Pakistan — averaging 92 and striking at 131.

She will also look to her bowlers, led by Sophie Ecclestone, to tighten the screws on a faltering Pakistan batting line-up. No one, barring Sidra Amin, has scored even 50 runs in three innings combined, leaving the batting department under pressure.

Yet to taste victory against England, Pakistan will enter the fixture on the back foot, facing an imposing 13-0 record. But a win would do more than end the streak; it would help keep its campaign alive.