Coach Justin Langer has confirmed that batsman Peter Handscomb will be selected for Australia’s World Cup semi-final against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday.

Handscomb was a late addition to the squad, and will replace the injured Usman Khawaja in the XI.

‘I’ll tell you the truth. Peter will definitely play, 100%. 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,’ said Langer.

‘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 Peter will definitely play.’

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis, meanwhile, has all but recovered from a side strain and batted and bowled during the team’s training earlier this week.

‘Marcus looks good. It was a very good nets session, actually, there was a bit of heat in there again and it was very competitive and that always brings the best out in Stoinis, so he did a good job and he’s fit to go,’ added Langer.

Thursday’s winner will meet New Zealand in Sunday’s final at Lord’s in London. The Black Caps beat India by 18 runs in Tuesday and Wednesday’s rain-affected first semi-final at Old Trafford in Manchester.

‘Regardless of what happens on Thursday – and I’m sure England’s Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan are saying the same thing – regardless of what happens Thursday they would very proud of what’s happened in the past four years,’ concluded Langer.

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