England out to end its losing habit

England will be out to end its losing habit in ODIs when it starts its five-match series against Pakistan at a sold-out Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Wednesday.

The home side has won only five of its last 20 matches in this form of the game and because of that it finds itself in a lowly eighth position in the LG ICC ODI Championship table.

But the good news for Andrew Strauss and his players is that if they can turn the form book on its head and secure a series win against Pakistan then that will allow England to make significant progress up that table.

A run of favourable results will also provide England with a timely boost ahead of the start of the ICC Champions Trophy in India in October. England lost in the final of the 2004 tournament to the West Indies.

A 3-2 success for England in its series against Pakistan would take it ahead of seventh-placed West Indies while a 5-0 clean sweep would be enough to see it also overtake Sri Lanka.

That latter scenario would be disastrous for Pakistan as it would drop Inzamam-ul-Haq's side to 102 rating points, a mark that would see it slip below not only England but also India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Any series loss for Pakistan would drop it down the table but, on a more positive note for the touring side, a 5-0 clean sweep - something Sri Lanka achieved against England earlier in the summer - would lift it to 121 rating points, just two points behind second-placed South Africa.

Australia leads the table, eight rating points clear of its closest rival.

Both England and Pakistan have two representatives in the top 20 places of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen. England's Kevin Pietersen is the highest-placed player from either side, in eighth spot, while his team-mate Marcus Trescothick lies in 16th position.

Pakistan captain Inzamam occupies 20th place while, above him, is Mohammad Yousuf. The elegant right-hander who enjoyed an outstanding Test series is in 16th slot.

Further down the list is England captain Strauss, in 33rd position, while Pakistan vice-captain Younis Khan is 46th.

The batting list is headed by Australia's Adam Gilchrist, ahead of Ramnaresh Sarwan of the West Indies, another Australian, Ricky Ponting, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, ruled out of the Test series because of a groin injury, is the highest-placed performer on either side in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, in 13th position. He is just ahead of England's Stephen Harmison, who lies joint 14th alongside Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka.

Further down that list England have two players absent from the series through injury, Andrew Flintoff (ankle) in 19th position and fellow Lancashire pace bowler James Anderson (back) who is 25th in the table.

But while that duo will miss the series, one player who could be back in action is Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Fit again after an ankle injury, he lies in joint 39th place in the listings.

Top of the bowling table is South Africa's Shaun Pollock, clear of Shane Bond of New Zealand and Australia's Glenn McGrath.

Pollock is also the leading ODI all-rounder in the LG ICC Player Rankings ahead of Flintoff and the West Indies' Chris Gayle.

The fixtures for the NatWest Series are as follows:

30 Aug - first ODI, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
2 Sept - second ODI, Lord's, London
5 Sept - third ODI, The Rose Bowl, Southampton
8 Sept - fourth ODI, Trent Bridge, Nottingham
10 Sept - fifth ODI, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Full details of the current LG ICC ODI Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found here