Australian middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb is confident that he could play spin well with his refined tactics in the UAE when they will play Pakistan in the two-match Test series in October.
Handscomb is currently in India as part of Australia A’s one-day squad and set to play first game on Thursday (23 August) in Bengaluru. They will also play two four-day matches, which will be a selection trial for the Pakistan Test series.
The Victorian has experience of playing in the subcontinent with the Baggy Green and his ability to use his feet to get to the pitch of the ball against spin, as well as using the depth of his crease would be really handy for him in Pakistan. He has spent a lot of hours with his father at nets to counter spin attack.
As per reports in cricket.com.au, Handscomb said, “I’ve had a bit of time in the subcontinent now and I feel like I’ve refined my game and my tactics to playing to spin over here. I took a lot of confidence (out of Bangladesh). I knew I could play spin relatively well, especially in Australia, but coming over to the subcontinent and actually be able to put a couple of knocks together and score some runs was a nice feeling personally. And it meant that I was able to have that confidence knowing my game is good enough to stand up against some of the best bowlers in the world in tough conditions.”
He further went on to explain, “My old man used to take me down to the nets and just throw balls and I had use my feet and find a way to deal with it. It was pretty awesome to be able to do that with him. That started when I was about 10 to maybe 16 when I stopped having him as a coach and moved on to some other people. In terms of batting deep, that was something I worked on with a coach back in Victoria and that seemed to work for me for a while. But I know I’ve got to evolve as well and if that means I need to bat outside my crease or on my crease for certain periods and maybe go deep or forward again then I’ve got to be able to accept that and adapt.”
The batsman further said that the sweep shot is not for all conditions, though it has been a focus of the Australians in recent times to get some success in the subcontinent.
Handscomb signed off by saying, “With the bounce in Australia, I tend not to sweep too much there, just because it can tend to be a bit more dangerous and brings in some catching opportunities. But with playing the sweep in the subcontinent, it’s something that we’ve trained.”
