Handscomb signs off from Middlesex on a high

Peter Handscomb signed off his Middlesex stint by guiding the county to a six-wicket win that kept them top of Division Two of the County Championship.

Handscomb finished unbeaten on 39 as Middlesex knocked off the 117-run target at Lord's to defeat a Durham side featuring new England Test skipper Ben Stokes.

With first-class fixtures now breaking for the T20 Blast, Handscomb, the club captain for first-class and 50-over fixtures, is heading home to Australia ahead of next month's tour of Sri Lanka, where he's been selected in the Australia A team.

With his first child due in August, Handscomb will not return for the second part of the season as initially planned.

He joined Middlesex in 2021 to captain the club's first-class and fifty-over sides and has struggled to replicate his Australian form in English conditions.

"To have started the season in the manner we have is testament to the amount of hard work the playing group and coaches have put in, and I wish Middlesex every success for the remainder of the season and moving forwards," Handscomb said in a statement released by the county.

"It’s been an honour to have been able to call Lord’s my home, and my thanks go to everyone at the club for their support in allowing me to head home to spend time with my family after my international commitments with Australia A."

The 31-year-old, who topped the most recent Shield run-scoring charts with 697 at 49.78 for runners-up Victoria, had scored 220 runs at 31.42 in five games for Middlesex this winter, while averaging 17.46 in seven games in 2021.

After starting with a duck, Handscomb had been steadily improving, scoring 79, 48 and 39no in his final three games this season.

Meanwhile, Middlesex have added both Jason Behrendorff and Chris Green to their roster for the T20 Blast season.

Behrendorff, who is currently with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the IPL, replaces Shaheen Shah Afridi while Green replaces Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with both those players missing for international duty.

There was little action for other Australians overnight as the latest round of County Championship wrapped up.

After James Pattinson's three wickets yesterday, Nottinghamshire batters Haseeb Hameed (93*) and Ben Slater (64*) completed a 10-wicket win over Derbyshire.

Matt Kelly bowled only five overs for Northamptonshire as they rotated their bowlers as Kent batted out the final day in a high-scoring draw.

And Nathan McAndrew was not required for Warwickshire in their second innings as Sam Hain (109*) and Will Rhodes (111*) batted out the final day for a draw with Yorkshire.

Australians in 2022 County Championship

Essex: Mark Steketee

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser

Gloucestershire: Marcus Harris

Middlesex: Peter Handscomb

Northamptonshire: Matt Kelly

Nottinghamshire: James Pattinson

Somerset: Matt Renshaw, Peter Siddle

Warwickshire: Nathan McAndrew

Get the full rundown of Australians playing county cricket in 2022