Joe Root urges England to harness World Twenty20 experience against Australia

Joe Root believes England can draw on the experience of their march to the World Twenty20 final in 2016 when they face Australia later this week.

England will qualify for their first World Cup final since 1992 if they can overcome the defending champions at Edgbaston on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Cricket.

Root is one of eight players in the current England squad to have featured the last time they reached an international final, three years ago, and he feels that knowhow could be vital for the hosts against Australia.

"I feel like we're in a good place. We've played in a high-pressure environment for a while now and hopefully that will hold us in good stead going into this game," said the England batsman.

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"There's been a lot of talk about us getting to this point for the first time in a long while. I think a lot of the guys will be calling on the experience of the Twenty20 World Cup - guys who have played in some big games in that format.

"Having those in the bank is going to be quite important. But ultimately we just have to go out there and keep playing in the manner we have in the last two games."

England's prospects of progressing to the semi-finals appeared precarious after their 64-run defeat to Australia in the group phase at Lord's, meaning they needed back-to-back victories against India and New Zealand to stay in the tournament.

Australia's left-arm pace duo Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff played a critical role in that first game, reducing the home side to 26-3 inside six overs, and Root is well aware that England's batsmen must avoid a repeat performance on Thursday.

"They bowled extremely well with the new ball," he said. "Those early wickets basically dictated the game and that's going to be the main threat early on, that ball swinging.

"If we can combat that and make a good start, we'll give ourselves a better chance of either closing a total down or setting a big one which is hard to chase.

"That left-arm angle's something that seems to have been effective in one-day cricket for a while now, and they've exploited that throughout the tournament. We've also seen that you can score quite freely if they don't quite get it right."

England's recent record in 50-over fixtures at Edgbaston is impeccable - they have won their last 10 games there, including inflicting India's only defeat of the group phase.

Root and his team-mates also triumphed the last time they met Australia at the Birmingham venue, winning by 40 runs (DLS) in the Champions Trophy two years ago.

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"It's great to have a record like that in the back of your mind," added Root. "You do get a real sense of belief from the crowd and it does make a difference.

"Whether it's the noise bouncing off the stands or whether it's just this ground, you do feel there's a great element of support here. It's somewhere I've always enjoyed turning up to play."

Watch Australia vs England live on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401) from 9.30am on Thursday