Beaumont: England ready for hard graft in Colombo

Two of the best batting units in world cricket - India and Australia - have in this World Cup struggled to come to terms with the pitch at the R Premadasa, stumbling to 124 for 6 and 76 for 7 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, respectively. Pakistan themselves were bowled out for 129 against Bangladesh.

England, one of two undefeated sides in the tournament alongside Australia, meanwhile struggled in their chase against Bangladesh in Guwahati last time out. Now they arrive in Colombo to face a Sri Lanka side that they have lost to just once in 18 WODIs, but on a surface that might bridge the gap considerably.

"I think the conditions here, obviously it being a lot more spin-friendly, is certainly bringing all the teams together," Tammy Beaumont said. "I think that you see a team like Bangladesh playing us in the last game, [they were] so well-disciplined with the ball that it makes life a lot harder when you can't necessarily trust the spin off the wicket and go to those big release shots; you have to really earn your runs.

"I think that means that it's a lot closer together for all the teams, and certainly the standard and depth of every single team has risen in the last four years. And we're certainly going to see a few upsets in this World Cup, but hopefully not involving us."

Against Bangladesh it was Heather Knight's 79 off 111 that took England past the finish line, and according to Beaumont the learnings and takeaways from that innings - primarily being patient and taking the game deep - will likely prove crucial in how they handle the conditions in Colombo.

"What we spoke about mainly from Heather's innings was about how patient she was and how precise she was in the balls she went to score off. And almost putting maybe your ego to one side and just trying to really graft one out for the team and be gritty.

"I think that's the kind of words we're trying to use, to make sure that we're working incredibly hard. And we might have to sit in for a bit, but we know that the longer you bat, the easier it gets. It certainly seems like a lot of runs have been scored in the last 15 overs in a lot of games, and actually sometimes you've just got to try to make it to that point as a batter."

One unique challenge England will face on Saturday is Sri Lanka's left-hand heavy top order - three of Sri Lanka's top five bat left-handed.

"I think they're a really well-structured team and certainly a team on the rise. They're really well-organised. Obviously, they've got a lot of left-handers, which is not something we're that used to. Not having any left-handed batters in our squad, I think makes things a little bit trickier."

With left-arm spinner Linsey Smith the solitary southpaw in the English side, it has forced some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of preparation.

"Actually there's been a few of us that have batted left-handed for her [Smith]. She's obviously the only left-handed batter we have in the squad, so she's also getting a lot of batting, but obviously she doesn't get to practise against left-handers."

Smith has had a good tournament thus far, picking up five wickets across two games. And against Sri Lanka, she is likely going to play a crucial role once more in deciding the direction of the game.

"I think she's someone that maybe hasn't played that much international cricket, but actually she's a little bit older. She's very experienced. She's played some franchise cricket, so she doesn't need too much support from us. She knows what she's doing. She knows her craft so well.

"What I love about her is she had a tough couple of games against India in our summer, and she really reflected, worked incredibly hard and has actually upped her game since then in a very short space of time, and I think that's why it's paying off out here. Obviously the conditions are helping, but getting the new ball I think really suits her."