Pakistan captain Urooj Mumtaz said it will be tough for her side to progress to the latter stages of the Women’s WC.

Their reward was to be drawn in a group alongside heavyweights India and England as well as Sri Lanka and although Mumtaz was keen to play down Pakistan's chances, she feels their displays in South Africa have given them the confidnce to spring a surprise.

"There are a lot of expectations on us in the World Cup but we have to be realistic," she said.

"And the reality is we are the eighth-ranked team in the world, we are short of international experience and exposure and we'll be competing against teams who we have either never beaten or never played.

"We can take a lot of heart from our performance in South Africa where not many people gave us any chance. We showed we were second best in that group and won the right to play against the best.

"If we can do it in Stellenbosch, there's no reason why we can't do it again in Australia. It needs the same passion, dedication and commitment, and I am happy to say we are not short of those qualities."

Whatever the outcome of their campaign, Mumtaz recognises the tournament provides an excellent opportunity to gain some much-needed experience.

"The bottom line is we have got nothing to lose and everything to gain from the World Cup," she added.

"We will give it our best shot, try to learn and achieve as much as we can so that it could help us become a better team for future tournaments and series. The learning process has to continue.

"We are taking it as a massive opportunity to learn what it feels to play at the highest level and what it requires to consistently perform at that stage."