Ready for anything after Chittagong

PETER Handscomb left 5kg on the Chittagong pitch, but the weight he gained in mental toughness means Australia’s middle-order linchpin is undaunted by anything England can offer.

In arguably the toughest batting performance from an Australian since Dean Jones’s knock in the 1986 tied Test in Madras, Handscomb defied 40C heat and debilitating humidity against Bangladesh last month to make a match-defining 82, dry-retching his way through hours at the crease. Handscomb said the innings became an out-of-body experience as he blanked out between balls and was only able to hold focus for the duration of the bowler’s run-up and delivery.

The 26-year-old will use his character-building experience to overcome any situation during the Ashes.

“You can always look back on that now and say ‘I’ve done that’. If I can survive in heat like that I can survive in heat at the Gabba or the WACA,’’ Handscomb said.

“You can draw back on it … and hope it helps in the future.

“I wasn’t really thinking too much at the time of what it [would do for my career].

“I was just trying to survive and get to the next day because I was hoping I was going to make a lot more runs the next day.”

Handscomb spent the winter in England playing county cricket for Yorkshire.

And with British parents, he is well versed in what to expect this summer.