Relaxed Aussies make one change to face England

Batsman Peter Handscomb will make his return to international cricket in the cauldron of a World Cup semi-final, while Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have both held their spots for the clash against England at Edgbaston.

Handscomb, who looks set to bat at No.4 behind Steve Smith at first drop, was confirmed as the only change to either side as Australia win what could be a crucial coin toss and elected to bat first on a bright morning in Birmingham.

Image Id: 8E4E513416DD49B4A4D84945578A753E Image Caption: Peter Handscomb gets in the zone pre-game // Cricket Network

Maxwell has kept his spot after some speculation this week he could make way for the knockout game while seam-bowling allrounder Stoinis has been ruled fit to play despite carrying injuries to both sides of his torso.

England will again go in with four specialist pace bowlers, plus seam-bowling allrounder Ben Stokes and leg-spinner Adil Rashid, resisting the temptation to bring spinning allrounder Moeen Ali in for Liam Plunkett.

Image Id: ADA628583B454305A04D855580BB9E14 Image Caption: Marcus Stoinis has shrugged off injury to take his place // Cricket Network

Australia have never lost a semi-final and England haven't won a knockout game in the World Cup since 1992, but the tournament hosts appear warm favourites after defeating India and New Zealand in their final group stage games.

England have won their past 10 games across all formats at Edgbaston.

The winner of Thursday's game will face New Zealand in the final at Lord's on Sunday.

Captain Aaron Finch flagged that Smith, who has a proven track record in World Cup knockout games, would move up to No.3 after Khawaja strained his hamstring in their game against South Africa on Saturday.

"He's a world-class player. At the last World Cup he dominated that position so hoping for more of that today," Finch said at the toss.

Earlier this week, he added: "He is one of the best players in the world. We saw at the last World Cup, at the business end, a quarter-final, he got 65, semi-final hundred, final 56 not out ."

England captain Eoin Morgan confirmed he would have also batted first had he won the coin flip, but added he didn't expect the pitch to deteriorate for their batting innings.

"Edgbaston has been a magnificent ground for a long time," said Morgan, who led England to a high-scoring victory over India here earlier in the tournament. "I'm not really bothered (about losing the toss).

"Before the World Cup, we preferred to chase so whoever plays the best cricket today will win.

"The last two games we've gone from strength to strength as a side, beating the two semi-finalists. It's given us a bit of confidence heading into this game."

After an up-and-down few months that saw him lose his Test spot, gain a foothold in a resurgent 50-over side, get married, then get squeezed out for the World Cup, Handscomb has bolted in for one of the biggest limited-overs games Australia have played in recent memory.

The right-hander edged out Matthew Wade for the final batting berth and Australia are confident he can handle the heat of a do-or-die match despite having not played all tournament.

Finch, who first alerted Handscomb by text message that a late call-up could be on the cards, has seen the 28-year-old make major strides in his limited-overs game.

"His improvement has been early in his innings in particular," said Finch, whom Handscomb now captains at Victoria. "He's someone who rotates the strike really well and doesn't allow bowlers to bowl over after over at him, which is a real key ingredient of being a successful middle-order player.

"When he first started for Victoria, he might have been slightly limited in terms of getting off strike.

"But his game now – he's a 360-degree player, very good against the quicks, extremely good against spin. It's a real class player we've got at our disposal."

Australia XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon.

England XI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.

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: New Zealand beat India by 18 runs

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

July 14: Final, TBC v NZ, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

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