No overhaul needed to make Peter perfect

Peter Handscomb maintains his unorthodox batting technique that was subject to detailed dissection and some criticism during last summer's Ashes requires only minor tweaks, rather than a wholesale makeover.

As Australia ponder how to replace the runs of their two best batsmen who will miss the forthcoming tour of Pakistan and the ensuing home season, Handscomb has enlisted former Test opener Chris Rogers to help make the necessary changes without abandoning the hallmarks of his homespun approach.

With both feet behind the popping crease and the toe of his bat pointing to the heavens, Handscomb has cut a distinct figure since his barnstorming entrance to Test cricket two summers ago.  

Two centuries flowed in his first six innings as neither South Africa nor Pakistan managed to dismiss him before he'd reached 50 across four Tests.

Less than 12 months later, his technique was under the microscope as he was out three times to Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad for returns of 14, 36 and 12, before losing his spot to allrounder Mitch Marsh.

Asked about Handscomb's batting method during the Ashes, Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au: "It's very unusual. I've never seen it before.

"There's going to be a few things there that need to be changed as far as I'm concerned. If he keeps moving around like he does and moving back in front of his stumps, it just looks like he's making batting more difficult for himself."

While conceding elements of his unique style need refining, Handscomb was a little perplexed by some of last summer's analyses.

"I found it quite funny that when I first came in and I was making runs with my technique, everyone said it was a bit different, but they were happy to go with it," the 27-year-old told cricket.com.au.

"It was funny how it all changed when, all of a sudden, I wasn't making runs and the reason was my technique."

Handscomb last week escaped the Melbourne winter to link up with Rogers, now Cricket Australia's high performance batting coach, and iron out some of the kinks at Brisbane's National Cricket Centre, where he also imparted some of his own knowledge to members of the National Performance Squad.

The pair are a fitting match; having himself fine-tuned a batting style that deviated from the textbook, Rogers understands what his former Bushrangers teammate needs to do better than perhaps anyone.

His play against spin-bowling remains a focus ahead of next month's Australia A tour of India, where he will look to seal his spot in the Test squad to face Pakistan in the UAE in October.

But also on the agenda is his approach against fast bowlers, with Handscomb admitting he became increasingly vulnerable to full-pitched deliveries from Test-calibre bowlers last season.

"I've definitely taken some of that stuff (criticism) on board," he said.

"I'm doing a lot of work with Chris Rogers, just to tinker with a few things and really get my straight drive and my cover drive back, so I can attack the bowler again rather than just waiting for them to come to me.

"I lost that ability to get forward when I needed to and really put that pressure back on the bowler.

"They just kept coming fuller and fuller and I didn't really have those answers because I probably got too stubborn in my ways and wanted to prove I could play off the back foot more than I needed to.

"When I first came in (to Test cricket) I was still driving well and still shifting my weight both forward and back well. Over a year, year and a half, I went a little too far back.

"Guys are obviously going to target my pads and they're going to target my stumps. So I need to be able find a way to be able to score off those balls.

"Hopefully this is a way and I can go out and prove that I'm still a good player, and I'm still a good Test player."

Having returned to the Test side in March in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal that has seen Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft all suspended for extended periods, Handscomb shapes as a potentially key plank in Australia's middle-order.

The right-hander is regarded as one of the country's better batters against spin and his returns in Asia, where slow bowlers traditionally thrive, have been encouraging if not outstanding.

In March 2017, he helped save the Ranchi Test against India in a dogged final-day batting effort, while he delivered an equally gutsy knock in sweltering Chittagong humidity against Bangladesh last September as Australia claimed a rare Test win on the subcontinent.

Those memorable knocks are his only scores above 50 in 12 innings in Asia, and Australia might well need some greater contributions in the UAE with three first-choice batters missing.

"I feel like I have developed a relatively strong game against spin, definitely in Australia, and I feel like it's been strengthened over in India and then in Bangladesh," Handscomb continued.

"I've had that time overseas in the subcontinent and I've got to stay with that plan and stay with my strengths, turn those starts that I've gotten in the subcontinent into big scores.

"(The Australia A series) could be a bit of preparation for Dubai, if I'm selected for the Pakistan team. It is a way to push my case and make sure I am in the Test team. Hopefully I can do that."

Australia A Tour of India

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Matthew Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain, Jack Wildermuth

Schedule

One-day fixtures in Vijayawada

17 August v India A

19 August v South Africa A

21 August v India B

23 August v India A

25 August v South Africa A

27 August v India B

29 August - Quad-Series Final

Australia A four-day squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain

Four-day fixtures in Vizag

2-5 September v India A

8-11 September v India A