Australia battling weight of history, Edgbaston road in semi-final

An England-friendly Edgbaston wicket may be the least of Australia’s worries when they take on the hosts in the second World Cup semi-final.

Matthew Wade. Picture: Getty

• Essential guide: How the can Kiwis upset the odds?
• Aussie player ratings: soft middle must get tough
• Cricket decision that will enrage the purists

A batting paradise certain to favour England’s all-out batting aggression is expected for Thursday night’s World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston.

Australia has not played an ODI in Birmingham in more than two years, while England has won 12 of the 17 games between the arch rivals since the 2015 World Cup.

But Australian coach Justin Langer was confident his wounded team could make it three in a row, after his team’s upset wins against England in the May warm-up match in Southampton and in the World Cup blockbuster at Lord’s last month.

“I think it’s going to be a really flat wicket, which will change game plans a little bit, unlike what we saw at Lord’s and a little bit at Hampshire (for the warm-up game),” Langer said.

England’s Jason Roy is ready to take full advantage of the flat deck. Picture: AP

“Hopefully we’ll be playing in the middle on a new wicket. It’s normally pretty flat, pretty fast at Edgbaston. We’ll have to be at our best.”

England opener Jason Roy, who missed Australia’s 64-run win at Lord’s with a hamstring injury, admitted that game was a “hammering”.

But England knocked off semi-finalists India (at Birmingham) and New Zealand since to seal its first top-four finish in a World Cup since 1992.

“And I think them (Australia) losing to South Africa might have knocked their confidence a bit,” Roy said.

The Aussies are set to unleash a new-look batting order. Matthew Wade is expected to make his World Cup debut because of Usman Khawaja’s hamstring injury, while Mitchell Marsh is in line to replace Marcus Stoinis (side strains).

Glenn Maxwell is also under the pump after a tournament where his weakness against short balls has been exposed by multiple attacks.

Fellow Victorian Pete Handscomb is also pushing to play his maiden World Cup game after being drafted into the squad as Shaun Marsh’s (broken arm) replacement last week.

Australia remains convinced the brutal training session that saw Shaun Marsh and Maxwell carted off to hospital for X-rays was the right course of action on the cusp of the knockout stages.

LISTEN UP: Ben Horne and Steve Wilson join podcast host Andrew Menczel to preview the World Cup semi-finals.

Stream above now or search ‘Cricket Unfiltered’ on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from, and subscribe today to never miss an episode.

Assistant coach Ricky Ponting wants in-form keeper Alex Carey promoted after a breakout tournament at No.7.

“We’ve played them twice (since we arrived in England) and we beat them twice,” Langer said.

“We’ve got the players and the camaraderie and the character and the feeling in the group to do it again.

While teams batting first are 27-14 in the tournament, with only one successful run chase of more than 250, Langer said that was more due to the pressure of the World Cup rather than the wickets.

Matthew Wade is set to make his World Cup debut. Picture: Getty

The England media are set to pile expectation on the hosts but Langer said his men would be under just as much pressure.

“When it gets to the game, they (England) won’t be worried about (winning to get the final on) free-to-air TV or what Michael Vaughan or anyone else says,” Langer said.

“They will be thinking about beating us in the semi-final.”

Originally published as Australia battling weight of history, Edgbaston road in semi-final