BIRMINGHAM, Sept 9: England captain Andrew Strauss told his players not to drop their standards after they achieved a rare one-day victory which gave them a chance of squaring their series against Pakistan.

An eight-wicket win under the Trent Bridge floodlights left England 2-1 down in the five-match encounter heading into Sunday's series finale at Edgbaston and was their first success in any form of limited overs cricket against a major nation this home season.

It was only England's fifth limited overs success in 25 matches, a worrying record heading into next year's World Cup in the Caribbean, and afterwards Strauss told reporters: “We've worked very hard to get this first win and now it's really important we build on it.

“We've got to do the things we did well again at Edgbaston.

“I certainly don't think anyone will be taking their foot off the accelerator,” he added.

“With the exception of our last few overs, it was excellent. We ... put them under pressure and were able to take wickets in the middle which is very important for one-day cricket.

“And then a clinical performance at the end there, keeping up with the rate and not losing early wickets. When you win it all seems quite simple.”

And Strauss said it was vital for the team's future success that they didn't just rely in their established stars.

“Tres is a very important one-day player for England but, as we've found with all the injuries we've had over the last 12 months, you can't rely on one or two players.

“You've got to be able to get performances from all round the team.

“Hopefully we can do that in India and hopefully this win will give us a bit of momentum.”

—AFP