Handscomb stakes middle-order claim

Peter Handscomb’s mother was in tears at the sight of her son notching a Test match fifty on debut, but Australia’s new No. 5 stated plainly after stumps that he does not wish this day to be the high-point of his international career.

Helped greatly by the platform Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith built on the first evening and second afternoon, Handscomb was able to showcase his batting method – crease-bound defence allied to adept shots all around the ground – while skating through a 99-run stand with Khawaja. He hopes it will be seen on plenty more days.

“Very determined,” Handscomb said when asked how determined he was to make a midde-order berth his own after the raft of recent changes to the Test side. “There is that chance there to try to cement a spot in the middle order, which I’ll be trying to take with both hands. I’ll just go out there and do what I do and hopefully that will be enough.

“It was an amazing platform they set, especially Matt on debut. It was a great testament to him. He …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com