England look to consolidate semis bid against win-less Pakistan

England will look to extend their unbeaten run and tighten their grip on a semifinal spot when they face Pakistan in their fourth match of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. The four-time champions have been clinical so far, while Pakistan remain winless after three games, struggling to find cohesion with the bat despite flashes of promise with the ball.

England have ticked most boxes in their campaign, displaying a blend of power and composure. Their latest win - by 89 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo - was headlined by Nat Sciver-Brunt's classy 117, and Sophie Ecclestone's four-wicket haul. With two dominant victories, sandwiching a hard-fought win against Bangladesh, England have kept their record spotless and will try to keep the streak going in their second outing at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Pakistan, meanwhile, are yet to find momentum. Their bowlers, led by Fatima Sana and Nashra Sandhu, have shown heart - especially in the clash against Australia where they reduced the defending champions to 76/7 and later 115/8. But the inability to close games out and the persistent batting collapses have been their undoing. Beth Mooney's century turned that match on its head, and Pakistan's reply - 114 all out - mirrored earlier totals of 129 and 159 against Bangladesh and India respectively.

England will start overwhelming favourites, but Pakistan's bowling has shown enough spark to test them if the batters can offer some support. For Sciver-Brunt's side, it's a chance to fine-tune ahead of tougher battles; for Sana's, it's about trying to salvage their campaign and proving they can compete.

When: Match 15 - Wednesday, October 15 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: Totals in the vicinity of 250 have been winning scores here, with the teams batting first having won thrice here in this tournament so far. A dry and slow wicket is likely to be on offer again, while there is forecast for rain.

Head to head: England are yet to lose a ODI against Pakistan, having registered 13 wins while two games yielded no result. In 50-over World Cups, England have a 4-0 record.

Team news:

England: Sciver-Brunt's side have used the same eleven for three successive games and will prefer to stick to the combination.

Probable XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (C), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

Pakistan: Sana's side made one change each for the last two games. Sadaf Shamas came in for Omaima Sohail and scored 6 and 5. Eyman Fatima replaced Aliya Riaz against Australia but got out for a duck. Pakistan might stick to the same eleven and give both another go.

Probable XI: Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Eyman Fatima, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (C), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig

Did you know?

- Nat Sciver-Brunt has slammed three centuries and one fifty against Pakistan in nine innings, with 554 runs at an average of 92.33. She also has the most hundreds (5) in ODI World Cups

- Sophie Ecclestone has taken 30 wickets in just 12 innings in World Cups, at an impressive average of 12.93

- Pakistan's spinners have picked 11 wickets in three games - the joint second least in this tournament. Meanwhile, Pakistan's batters lost just two wickets to left-arm spin bowlers, the best bowling type in this World Cup

What they said

Obviously that's been a bit of a trend over the tournament so far, and I'm sure it's probably been something that a lot of teams have spoken about. I think we bat so deep, the depth in our squad is incredible. I think one of the really good things about what we've done so far is we've had one player from that top five or six who's really dug in and got a big score and really influenced the game" - Alice Capsey, on the top-order struggles.