England will not flinch against aggressive Australians, says Jos Buttler

Hosts England might have cemented their berth in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy, but they are in no mood to give Australia an easy ride. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler made it quite clear that the team will not flinch in the face of an aggressive Australian team in their final league game on Saturday.

Australia were unlucky to have missed out on two results as rain had the last word in their game against New Zealand as well as Bangladesh. A ‘No Result’ on both occasions means Australia are stuck at 2 points. The game against England will be a must-win for the Aussies if they want to qualify for the semi-finals and keep their Champions Trophy hopes alive.

Jos Buttler looks to maintain momentum

“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,” Buttler said.

Incidentally, England had defeated Australia in the previous edition of the Champions Trophy at the same ground, Edgbaston. Buttler, Joe Root and skipper Eoin Morgan are the three members of that victorious English team who are once again featuring in England colours this year.

The wicketkeeper-batsman himself has been in fine form with the bat, having recently scored a wonderful knock of 61 against New Zealand. England eventually defeated the Kiwis by a comfortable 87-run margin to qualify for the semis. England-Australia games are always high-intensity, however, Buttler believes the team will focus on maintaining momentum rather than look to eliminate their arch-rivals Australia.

“Of course… any England-Australia game is a huge game. 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,” Jos Buttler concluded.