DUBAI, Aug 29: England will be keen to justify their direct entry into ICC Champions Trophy when they take on Pakistan in the five-match one-day series. England qualified for eight-nation knock-out event by virtue of their No 6 ranking on April 1.

But Andrew Strauss’ men have since fallen to eighth place in ICC one-day team rankings.

On other hand, Sri Lanka beat England 5-0 in a recent series and have moved to sixth place.

England need to win the Pakistan series to make significant progress up ranking ladder.

A 3-2 success would take them ahead of seventh-placed West Indies while a 5-0 clean sweep would be enough to see them also overtake Sri Lanka.

On positive note for touring side, a 5-0 clean sweep would lift them to 121 rating points, just two points behind second-placed South Africa. Australia lead table, eight rating points clear of their closest rival.—Agencies