- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Peter Handscomb’s run plundering in last week’s Sheffield Shield final is further evidence that he is Australia’s middle order Test-batsman-in-waiting.
Originally a wicketkeeper, Handscomb has developed swiftly since deciding to focus on his batting. Over the past two Shield seasons, he has cracked six hundreds from 21 matches amid an impressive haul of 1431 runs at 48.
Unlike the many other young batsmen who have had one great season and then faded in recent years, Handscomb has strung together influential Shield campaigns back-to-back, a strong indicator that a player is ready for the top level.
Crucially, he has shown the ability to make runs at pivotal junctures for Victoria, as displayed once more with his double of 111 and 61no as Victoria defeated South Australia in the final.
Opposed to South Australia’s in-form pace attack, Handscomb displayed one of the most valuable attributes for a long-form batsman – the ability to seamlessly switch gears within an innings.
In the first dig, he crunched four early boundaries to cruise to 23 from 24 balls. Then, as his batting partner Travis Dean began to show greater intent, Handscomb changed into consolidation mode, content to take 66 balls to score the further 27 runs needed to reach his half century.
Once he passed that milestone, Handscomb moved back into attack mode, scoring 23 from his next 30 balls as he and Dean tried to heap the pressure on the South Australian attack.
Then the quick wickets of Dean and keeper Matthew Wade prompted Handscomb to alter his approach once more, going back into his shell as he tried to halt the Redbacks momentum. As he approached and then passed his ton, Handscomb again switched gears, smacking a cluster of boundaries.
Adapting your strokeplay to the changing circumstances of the match in this manner is something which too often has been missing among the Australian Test batsmen. Again and again we have seen Australian players look to force the pace when what the side really needed was some patient, stubborn batting to stem the opposition’s charge.
At other times, Australian batsmen have been guilty of being unable to up their strike rate when the situation required it. One-paced batting has been a major problem. There is heavy focus on picking for Tests batsmen who are adept against spin or compact against the swinging ball. But match awareness and the gift of having multiple gears is almost as important for a budding Test batsman.
Handscomb actually ticks all three of those boxes. Batting in the top four for Victoria he has shown that he is a fine player of pace, whether off the front or back foot. What has really caught the eye, however, is his nimble and assertive batting against slow bowlers.
This has been evident not only in the Shield but was also underlined during the Australia A tour of India last July. On a very dry and dusty Chennai pitch, Australia A were in trouble at 4-75 in the first innings of the first Unofficial Test.
India boasted Test paceman Umesh Yadav and high-class spinners Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, who together have 231 Test wickets to their names. Handscomb defied this potent attack for four hours in blazing 40C heat in making 91.
If Australia are to become the undisputed number one Test side in the world then success in Asia is non-negotiable and fleet-footed batsmen like Handscomb will be required.
At just 24 years old, he is young enough to potentially play international cricket for a decade, yet also has significant first-class experience, with 54 matches to his name – almost as many as Mitchell Starc and more than Josh Hazlewood.
While Australia’s Test batting line-up is currently in fine shape, should they need a middle-order replacement at some point this year that opportunity should be given to Handscomb.