Strauss' men fought back after Pakistan dominated early on

"There's a lot of fight there and a lot of belief," said Strauss after his side won by three wickets at Edgbaston.

"It's been a tough summer in one-day cricket but hopefully there's some light there at the end of the tunnel.

"If we can continue that over the course of this winter and beyond we could be a very, very good side."

Interview: England captain Andrew Strauss

Interview: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer

Interview: England's Sajid Mahmood

England drew the Test series 1-1 with Sri Lanka at the start of the summer before crashing to a 5-0 whitewash in the one-day series.

Young guys are coming in and playing with freedom Andrew Strauss

But they improved to beat Pakistan 3-0 in Tests after the fourth match was forfeited, and fought back to tie the one-day series after the first match was washed out.

"I'm pretty happy with the way the summer has gone because it started off not so good and improved as it went on and that's what you're looking for," said Strauss.

"Young guys are coming in and taking the opportunity and showing what they can do and playing with freedom. Hopefully we can continue that in the Champions Trophy."

At Edgbaston, England were cruising to victory after limiting Pakistan to 154-9 off their 50 overs but Strauss' side were in trouble on 118-7 after losing four wickets in as many overs.

But paceman Sajid Mahmood hit 22, and added 37 with Michael Yardy to see the hosts home with 19 overs to spare.

"We made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill," said Strauss. "We shouldn't have left it to the tail-enders to finish off the job.

"We bowled really well. Chasing 150 you should really do nine times out of 10."