Peter Handscomb is eager to avoid being labelled as a
subcontinent specialist and to be a constant in Australia’s middle order in
Test matches under all circumstances, but he is aware that he will need to be
patient and keep making his case for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
Despite being one of the competition’s most reliable
players in recent summers, Handscomb, 31, will begin a new Shield campaign against
defending champions Western Australia on Wednesday in Perth rather under the
radar.
Everybody in the nation is watching the upcoming
generation of openers to see who can make a case to succeed David Warner,
either before or after Australia’s upcoming Test series against Pakistan.
Marcus Harris, Handscomb’s teammate and the front-runner, will not represent
Victoria in Perth in order to stay at home in Melbourne with his wife and new
infant.
Will Pucovski, who was selected to participate in his
first Shield game in almost a year, is another intriguing addition to
Victoria’s roster.
“I’d like to play some home Tests,”
Handscomb said last week after scoring a half-century in his first Marsh Cup
game of the summer. “I spend half the year playing cricket here batting at
No. 3 and 4 for Victoria. I’ve done quite well over the last couple of years as
well.
“The numbers are good. I’ve got to just try and
keep backing that up and then see if you can get a crack but there’s got to be
spots available as well. The Test side is extremely powerful at the moment,
especially in Australia. So it’s hard to crack into that squad.”
Handscomb’s technique in Australia has always been a
point of focus but he believes improvements in his mental game have been more
important.
“The technique is always one that’s spoken about
and I’ve always tinkered with stuff and worked on a few things,” he said.
“I changed another thing when I went to England this year and I’ve come
back to Australia changed again and it’s sort of trying to adapt to conditions.
But mentally it’s just controlling the controllables, doing all that, and
staying present out there. A lot of work with sports psychs and clinical psychs
and that’s really helped me out in the middle.”