England must finish in top eight at World Cup to qualify for Champions Trophy

England's remaining World Cup fixtures have taken on a new layer of importance after it emerged that qualification for the Champions Trophy in 2025 depends on finishing in the top eight.

The competition, seen as a 'mini World Cup', has traditionally been contested by the top eight teams in the global ODI rankings at a given cut-off point.

But it has come to light that the qualification parameters for the next edition were redrawn at an International Cricket Council board meeting in November 2021, with finishing position at the current World Cup the new benchmark.

A press release issued at the time made no reference to the revised entry system, which hands one place to hosts Pakistan plus the next seven finishers in the ongoing tournament in India.

It is understood England management were not aware of the changes, which would have required England and Wales Cricket Board approval at the time.

The issue was raised by Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan this week, when he highlighted the importance of reaching the top eight for his side.

An ICC spokesperson said: "Qualification for the ICC men's Champions Trophy 2025 is the host (Pakistan) plus the top seven teams in the ICC men's Cricket World Cup 2023 table at the conclusion of the event. This was approved by ICC board in November 2021."

Prior to Sunday's game against India, England slumped to rock-bottom 10th place in the standings with just one win from their first five games.

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