England secured top spot in Pool A of hockey’s Champions Trophy in India after a 1-1 draw against Belgium.

England needed only a draw coming into the match, following victories against Australia and Pakistan in their opening two fixtures, and they got exactly that thanks to Iain Lewers’ brilliant strike.

The Bucks trio of Nick Catlin, Barry Middleton and Ashley Jackson again played their part as their side recovered from going behind to a goal from Amaury Keusters to take a share of the spoils.

Keusters struck in the ninth minute after a spell of Belgian dominance, when he found space in the circle to score with the reverse stick.

Lewers should have levelled the tie before half-time, but saw his penalty stroke rattle the crossbar and bounce clear.

The defender did fire in the all-important equaliser as the match moved towards its climax when he cracked in a powerful reverse stick effort from the edge of the circle.

England now face a likely showdown with India in Thursday’s quarter-final, should the hosts fail to beat Netherlands in their final Pool B match on Tuesday afternoon.