Help’s at Handscomb for Canes’ top order

FORMER Australian batsman Peter Handscomb hopes to force his way into the top four this summer after chats with Hurricane guns Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short convinced him to jump on the Cane Train for the 2020-21 Big Bash season.

A veteran of 16 Test matches and 16 ODIs, the 29year-old batsman, wicketkeeper and off-spinner also wants his Australian Test cap back.

“My ultimate goal is still to play Test cricket for Australia and get back into that Test side,” Handscomb said.

After signing the Victorian fresh from the Melbourne Stars, last season’s BBL runners-up, Hobart’s batting firepower is on the move with the team hot on the heels of England thrashing machine, the world’s No.5 best T20 batsman Dawid Malan. With a wry smile Handscomb revealed he would also like to replace Wade or Short at the top of the order but said he was “flexible”.

“I think every batter in T20 cricket wants to open the batting so it would be silly of me to say I wouldn’t jump at that opportunity,” Handscomb said.

“I’m hoping my role with Hobart will be in the top four and maybe controlling those middle overs.

“But if that opening position is there, depending on what’s happening with Wadey and his Aussie stuff,

I’d be pretty happy to do that too.”

The Hurricanes could be without Wade and Short early, depending on how many Australian players are put into quarantine hubs.

Handscomb had interest from other franchises so making the decision to join the Hurricanes was “tough”.

“There was a moment there for a while that I was a bit scared that no one was going to give me an offer,” he said. “Late in the process I spoke to a few other clubs and the defining factor in coming to Hobart was to bat in that top four, and with such a good group there, good people, batting on a good wicket.”

Handscomb also backed the possibility of a cricket hub in Tasmania.

“I’d embrace almost anything that gets cricket going,” he said. “The players are ready and want to get the season going and if that means we going into a hub, so be it. We’ve seen it work with other Australian sports, so hopefully that can correlate into a cricket season and we can play as much cricket as possible.”