Aussies bare all as they seek to rediscover Cup mojo

Australia bared their feet and their souls in an emotional mid-pitch assembly at Edgbaston on Monday, as the injury-ravaged reigning World Cup champions refuelled belief that they'll be standing on the Lord's balcony hoisting the trophy later this week.

At the behest of coach Justin Langer, the entire Australian travelling contingent including their extensive army of support staff removed their shoes and walked a lap of the venue that has seen England – their semi-final opponents on Thursday – win their past 10 games across all three formats.

Langer, a self-described "hippy" and a devotee to transcendental meditation, likes to spend his rare holiday time walking around Perth with no shoes on and he’s already spread the practice to cricket grounds in Dubai, Hyderabad and Southampton since taking over the Australian coaching job last year.

Image Id: 9139889D86F743338DEDF69298709B54 Image Caption: Australia's players go bare foot in Dubai last year // cricket.com.au

After walking around the ground on Monday, the squad sat in a circle on the outfield and each member of the touring party spoke about the significance of Australia’s World Cup run to date – and what it would mean to lift the trophy.

"(It was) just a moment to get a feel for the ground - literally," said new squad member Peter Handscomb. "It’s something the coach has done before at other venues for a bit of grounding.

"It was nice. You get a feel of the grass on your feet, the positive and negative energy flowing through and coming out of the earth.

"It is a nice feeling and you walk around with the group, have a bit of a laugh while you're going and talking.

Image Id: F8EF589A01604B759DF81EE962649669 Image Caption: A bare-foot Langer in Hyderabad this year // cricket.com.au

"It was just an open and honest conversation and it was great that some of the guys poured their heart out about what it meant to get to the semi-final. What it meant for them and their first memories of cricket growing. It was really nice. It was great to see what playing in the finals means to this group.

"I said out there with the boys - I’ve played so many World Cup semi-finals and finals in the backyard with my mates and you’re trying to (imitate) different guys and doing all that stuff.

"So to actually come out here, pardon the cliché, it’s actually living the dream to be here now."

Image Id: 4EA36BC2ABF84435AB38D475D4CE6C19 Image Caption: Langer addresses him team at Edgbaston // cricket.com.au

Mitch Marsh, who along with Handscomb and Matthew Wade have been plucked from the Australia A squad to the senior side to cover a spate of recent injuries, revealed his wish to get a photo to match the one he had taken after his father Geoff coached Australia to their World Cup triumph in London 20 years ago.

"He was talking about 1999 World Cup with his dad coaching and having a photo done with the World Cup trophy. Handscomb said.

“So Mitch wants to be here, and he wants to have a photo on the balcony at Lord’s, which is pretty awesome.”

Langer will hope Australia soaked up all the positive energy on Monday because they're unlikely to receive much from the famously parochial Birmingham crowd come Thursday.

Handscomb could slot into Australia's middle order for his first international game in three months following injuries to Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh in recent days.

The right-hander struck his maiden century and played in back-to-back away series wins against India and Pakistan before Steve Smith's return squeezed him out of the ODI squad, and he’s confident he can come in fresh to handle the pressure of a knockout World Cup game.

"If I do play … (I’ll be) just treating it as I would any game. I'm just going with the same mindset that I’ve had for the last couple of years," said the 28-year-old.

"If I do play, hopefully I’ll do something towards winning the match.

"Every time you take that next step up and go to the next level, you're trying to get that self-belief that you belong there and that little period against India and Pakistan in the UAE helped me believe in myself more than anything.

"Now I can back my skills and back my preparation and know that I have done it so I can continue to make runs if required."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia lost to South Africa by 10 runs

July 9: Semi-Final 1, India v New Zealand, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Australia v England, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE