Justin Langer, the Australia head coach, has lavished England with praise before their World Cup semi-final, describing them as the “benchmark” side in one-day cricket.
While recent Ashes encounters have been dominated by salty comments in the buildup, the unconventional Langer has gone against the grain as he continues to reshape Australia’s public image in the wake of last year’s ball-tampering scandal.
Asked if Eoin Morgan’s side can cope with the pressure of a semi-final, Langer replied: “We’ll find out on Thursday, I reckon. But this is a very different England team. I have maintained it from day one, England are going to be really hard to beat in this tournament. Regardless of what happens, they can be very proud of what they have achieved in the past four years. They have been the benchmark side.”
Australia, who finished second in the group after seven wins and two defeats, will be forced into at least one change. Langer confirmed Peter Handscomb will replace hamstring victim Usman Khawaja in the XI for what will be the quirky right-hander’s first appearance in the tournament.
Marcus Stoinis, the all-rounder who has battled side issues, has been passed fit after getting through training but there remains a temptation to look at the in-form Matthew Wade as an extra batsman, having joined the squad this week as Khawaja’s official replacement.
Despite the recent injury troubles and the defeat by South Africa on Saturday that put them into the second semi-final, Australia appear in relaxed mood at present.
When this was put to Langer, he replied: “It depends what you compare it to. If you go back 12 months there wasn’t much to be relaxed and chilled about in Australian cricket, was there? We went through a major crisis in our cricket. It didn’t just affect our cricket, it affected our country.
“We got to work hard on being more humble in what we do and being focused on playing good cricket. It’s a good bunch of players and you get more relaxed as you start playing together. But only on the back of playing good cricket and working hard for that.”
