Nasser Hussain's big Jos Buttler call ahead of crucial Sri Lanka meeting
Only a victory against Dasun Shanaka's men will be good enough to ensure a spot in the final four, with a defeat gifting Australia the second spot in their group behind New Zealand.
Joining Alex Jordan for the Big Time Preview ahead the crucial fixture at the SCG, former England captain Hussain feels the pieces are in place for Buttler to build on his half-century performance against New Zealand and score heavily yet again.
The Big Time Preview: Episode 25 | Sri Lanka v England | T20WC 2022
Nasser Hussain and Alex Jordan preview the massive clash between Sri Lanka and England in Sydney.
"I don't think there's ever doubt he's going to come good in this tournament," Hussain stressed.
"He's a world class player, arguably England's greatest ever white-ball cricketer.
"It was his 100th T20 international (against New Zealand). He went past Eoin Morgan as a leading run-getter (in the format), but more importantly, for him and the team, they won the game and he made that valuable contribution. When you get down to these must win games, you need your best players to stand up and just did that for England."
Keeping a close eye on his compatriot's leadership in the heat of battle, Hussain also praised Buttler the skipper, who has been forced to learn on the job quickly after Morgan's retirement.
"I thought he had his best game as captain the other day, just the way he changed the bowling in those first few overs," Hussain noted.
"The moment they got that first wicket of (Devon) Conway, he realised Williamson's stats against spin recently have been low.
"So immediately he went with two right handers in, spinning it away from the bat from Williamson."
Best of Jos Buttler so far at T20WC 2022
Best of Jos Buttler so far at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
Buttler has happy memories of taking on Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup, bludgeoning an imposing century at last year's tournament to be now in the conversation as the world's best T20I batter
Virat Kohli's exploits in Australia and Suryakumar Yadav's consistency in 2022 may usurp the English opener, though Hussain feels there's no reason why Buttler can't push on against Sri Lanka, and lead from the front in the final stages of the tournament.
England see off New Zealand and keep semi-final hopes alive | Match Highlights | T20WC 2022
Match highlights of England holding off New Zealand for a 20-run victory that kept their hopes of making the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 alive.
"Jos will also have good memories about Sri Lanka," Hussain said.
"He's a good player of spin and I think there's going to be a massive threat from spin from Sri Lanka as well. It could be a used pitch. We know Sydney can turn.
"I know if I'm an opposition captain, the game isn't over until you get Jos Buttler out."