England's Olympic star Nathan Robertson is convinced that an enthusiastic crowd will give the national team the lift it needs against a strong Japanese line-up in Bath tomorrow night.

And the Athens 2004 silver medallist hopes the Badminton England International Match, which gets under way at the University of Bath's Sports Training Village at 6.45pm, will provide a taste of what can be expected at the London Games in 2012.

"We don't get enough opportunity to play in England in front of a home crowd," said Robertson.

"I really love it. It's fantastic to play at home and to hear everyone supporting you. It gives me a real lift.

"The home crowd will be important in 2012 and matches like this will help the players get used to it.

"I'm also really looking forward to coming to Bath to play. Badminton has a High Performance Centre in Bath and there are strong links with our sport," he added.

The 32 year-old doubles specialist, who also struck gold at the Commonwealth Games, says England will have to play well on the night to repeat their last victory over Japan.

He said: "We don't know exactly what line-up we will face until the day of the match but Japan are bringing their strongest squad. We expect to be challenged."

England are fielding a full-strength team in the five-match format, mirroring the Sudirman Cup – the world team championships in which England beat Japan 4-1 to stay in the top world group last May.

That match, and the victory over Japan, holds special memories for Robertson as he reached his 100th cap during the encounter.

"It was a great day for me, very special," he said.

"I have fantastic memories of it and I'm looking forward to playing them again."

Tomorrow's meeting includes men's and women's singles and doubles matches, plus a mixed doubles match.

Robertson is playing men's doubles with Anthony Clark but since his Olympic partner Gail Emms retired last year he has been developing a new partnership with Jenny Wallwork – the daughter of ex-international Brian Wallwork.

"It's very important to us in the lead-up to 2012 because we don't get much opportunity to play at home in front of home crowds," he said.

"That can put different demands on players. It can also bring pressure for some players."

Tickets for the match cost £12 for adults, £10 for Badminton England members and £6 for concessions – under-16s, OAPs and students. To book, visit either www.badmintonengland.co.uk or www.teambathstore.com , telephone 01225 384213 or visit the Sports Training Village reception.