For Edgbaston showdown Online

kai and, when he became Australia head coach, admitted that ‘‘one month every year I like to grow a beard and not wear shoes’’.

Not that long ago, England were ridiculed in Australia for their mung bean curries and quinoa salads on the ill-fated Ashes tour of 2013-14 – which they lost 5-0 – and it is not hard to imagine how the country’s media would have reacted to them barefoot earthing at the Gabba before the start of the last Ashes contest.

You could not find two more contrasting Australian coaches than Langer and Trevor Bayliss. England very rarely hold team meetings; Bayliss believes they are full of hot air. But Langer is constantly working on the team’s mentality, trying to repair a rotten culture that led to ruin in Cape Town and the balltampering scandal.

‘‘If you’ve got that camaraderie, it’s like the glue that keeps everything together, particularly when you’re under pressure,’’ Langer has said.

Urging his players to think about what it means to play England was his latest attempt to reinforce the team’s moral code. It was also a chance to lift a side which looked devastated to lose For coverage of the semifinal between India and New Zealand, go to stuff.co.nz to South Africa on Sunday, a defeat which sent them south to Birmingham to play England at a ground where they have not won a one-day international since 1993.

Australia limped out of Manchester with Usman Khawaja (hamstring) and Marcus Stoinis (right side) injured and facing the end of their World Cup campaigns. Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade have been called up as cover after showing strong form for Australia A against weakened county opposition, while Handscomb was unlucky to miss out on the original squad.