Handscomb reaps reward of busy winter

Peter Handscomb's decision to sign on for a County Championship stint is looking like reaping dividends on Australia's upcoming tour of Bangladesh, after the Victorian produced a classy hundred on day one of the Warner XI v Smith XI intra-squad clash in Darwin.

Report, highlights: Warner XI v Smith XI, day one

Handscomb cut a frustrated figure through most of Australia's tour of India in February-March, unable to kick on with a series of promising starts, with the exception of a match-saving 72 not out on the final day of the third Test in Ranchi.

While many of his teammates stayed on the subcontinent for the Indian Premier League, Handscomb was granted a release from the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise and instead enjoyed four months in England with Division One heavyweights Yorkshire.

There he impressed with a century and a pair of fifties for an overall contribution of 441 runs at 33.92 across nine first-class matches.

Quick Single: Handscomb enhances reputation at Yorks

The 26-year-old returned to Australia and couldn't wait to get up to Darwin to reunite with the Australia squad.

"Spending time out in the middle is awesome preparation for any tour, and especially up here in Darwin on a wicket like that, which is hopefully something similar to what we'll get in Bangladesh," the right-hander said after compiling a chanceless 105 from just 130 deliveries.

"I felt really good in India, getting starts, getting into the game but just not converting as many times as I'd hoped to.

"So when I got in today, I wanted to make sure I got used to batting long periods of time, getting used to making those big scores."

Handscomb only debuted in Baggy Green last summer but, after a composed half-century and the thrill of hitting the winning runs in his very first Test, settled nicely into the middle order with a pair of hundreds against Pakistan to make him an automatic selection for India.

Now he returns to the subcontinent, just five months on from the India experience but altogether more confident in what needs to be done to score big runs.

Part of that comes from the England experience, where he continued fine-tuning his game during the northern summer.

The results were on display at Marrara Oval today, where the unorthodox batsman steadied his team from early trouble at 2-19, and slowly began to shift the momentum with a patient half-century from 98 balls.

Handscomb exhibited his neat footwork against Mitch Swepson, playing the leg-spinner largely through the on-side both off his pads as well as via the sweep, which he employed to great effect.

Typically, he was prepared to advance down the track to the slow bowlers and deposited Glenn Maxwell over long-on for six with a beautifully timed drive.

Later, he repeated the dose, smashing Steve Smith for another maximum over wide midwicket to bring up his hundred amid a flurry of boundaries. His final 55 runs came from just 32 balls.

"I think any time you can consistently play cricket, it's so much better than just training because it means you get time out in the middle," Handscomb said of his time with Yorkshire, which also included a maiden List A hundred in an outstanding showing for their one-day team, and a less productive T20 spell.

"It doesn't really matter what format you're playing – you're out in the middle, you're facing bowlers, getting in a rhythm, and understanding what your game can do.

"So it's great to be able to go straight from (England) into something like this, and then into Bangladesh."

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Following his team's declaration, the versatile Handscomb then donned the wicketkeeping gloves, as he did in two ODIs following a back injury to Matthew Wade on Australia's tour of New Zealand.

"It's an interesting one," Handscomb said of how he viewed the role of wicketkeeper in his skillset.

"I was doing some white-ball keeping for Yorkshire in England as well. Ultimately I'm happy to do it if it's good for team balance, if it opens up a position for another bowler or batter to come into the side.

"But first and foremost I've always said that batting is my number one (priority), and 'keeping plays second fiddle."

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad (preliminary): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Kumar Das, Mominul Haque, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Subhashish Roy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sanjamul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mohammad Saifuddin, Anamul Haque, Abul Hasan Raju, Al Amin Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Muktar Ali, Tanbir Haider, Saqlain Sajib, Shafiul Islam.

11-17 August Australia pre-tour training camp, Darwin

18 August Australia arrive

22-23 August Tour match, TBC

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong