Let’s deliver knockout blow on old rivals Aussies – Buttler

Jos Buttler is hoping England can deliver a knockout blow for Australia in the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston.

The Ashes rivals will square up for the second successive edition of the tournament, with England in the enviable position of knowing after their two Group A wins out of two so far that they have already booked a semi-final berth in Cardiff next Wednesday.

Before then, Australia will almost certainly need to beat Eoin Morgan’s hosts in Birmingham on Saturday to sneak a return to the same venue in the last four after their two washouts to date.

The tie is a repeat of the 2013 fixture, comfortably won by England on the way to that year’s final in a match better remembered for a vexed aftermath in which Australia opener David Warner ended up aiming a punch at Joe Root in a citycentre bar after a late-night misunderstanding between the two players.

Buttler, one of three survivors alongside Root and Morgan from England’s victory almost exactly four years ago, knows England can land a metaphorical but terminal shot this time. Asked about the prospect of putting Australia out of the tournament, he said: “We won’t think too much about it ... but it is always nice to know that would be the outcome if we did win.

“We now know we have qualified for the semi-finals, but we want to be going into a semi-final on the back of a win - and we’ll be desperate to do that on Saturday.”

Whatever the consequences, Buttler confirms the stakes always rise against Australia.

“Of course they do – any England-Australia game is a huge game,” he said, promising too that the hosts will once again stick to the proactive tactics which have transformed their one-day international fortunes.

“Both sides are very aggressive, attacking teams. We will not change our style of cricket. We’ll keep trying to take them on. They’ve got some good pace bowlers, but we’ll try and be aggressive with the bat as well.”

It was also in Birmingham that Morgan’s England first unveiled their new ODI template of all-out attack after their miserable 2015 World Cup campaign, with centuries from Buttler and Root in a 210-run win over New Zealand.