“I’ll tell you the truth. Peter Handscomb will definitely play, 100 percent,” Langer told reporters on Tuesday, July 9, ahead of the semi-final in Birmingham. “He deserves it. He was stiff not to be on this tour, he was so unlucky not to be in the initial squad after what he’d done to get us to that point.

“He’s in good form, he played well for Australia A, gives us that nice balance in the middle order. He’s got good temperament, he plays spin well, he’s on top of his game, so Pete will definitely play.”

Injury news from @CricketAus. 👇 #CWC19 https://t.co/mIXAnWbDfz

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 5, 2019

Handscomb, initially excluded from Australia’s 15-man squad, was drafted in as a replacement for Shaun Marsh, who was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured forearm.

Starting with the India series in January, and right up until the World Cup, Handscomb had featured in 13 ODIs, compiling 479 runs, the third-most by an Australian during the period. His maiden century in March, which steered Australia’s record chase of 359 in Mohali, against India, almost sealed his spot for the World Cup. However, Steve Smith’s re-entry in the middle-order edged him out of the final squad.

“And they’ve obviously got a good game plan and a lot of very talented cricketers. All those factors combined is why they’re the best team in the world at the moment, and we’re aware of that. It’s going to be a really tough game on Thursday, but looking forward to it as well.”