Paine and heartache
PETER Handscomb could win a Boxing Day reprieve with wicketkeeper Tim Paine in doubt for the fourth Test after a family medical emergency.
Paine’s father-in-law suffered a stroke and he has opted to stay in Hobart with his family rather than join his teammates, who arrived in Melbourne yesterday.
Australia has not called up another keeper and Paine could yet arrive on Christmas Eve and play. A decision is likely this afternoon.
“Tim Paine has not trav- elled with the squad to Melbourne due to personal reasons. An update on his travel plans will be provided in due course,” a team statement said yesterday.
Should Paine miss, Handscomb, who was dropped for the third Test, could be recalled to play as wicketkeeper or purely as a batsman.
Opener Cameron Bancroft, who has kept wicket for Western Australia this summer, is another option to take the gloves.
Handscomb is ready to go, saying yesterday he had no issues with his batting technique, which was heavily scrutinised during the opening two Tests.
He was under siege in the second innings of the daynight Adelaide Test, from both England quicks and commentators. They said his preference for playing off the back foot would continue to bring him undone at the highest level.
In three innings in the first two Ashes Tests, Handscomb made just 62 runs, and was twice out lbw.
But pointing to the stunning success of Test captain Steve Smith, who is walking in the shadows of Don Bradman despite batting in a way no one could coach, Handscomb rejected calls for a technique rethink.
“I’m quite confident in my batting at the moment,” he said. “In Brisbane I was seeing them well and unfortunately just missed a ball on the stumps and then in Adelaide I was batting in two difficult periods, both at night, and the ball was doing plenty there.
“So I’m not too worried about how my technique’s going or anything like that.
“I was doing exactly the same thing last year, but I was making runs, so my technique was OK then. This year I’m doing the same thing but haven’t made the runs, so all of a sudden my technique’s not good enough.
“It’s just funny how that can happen.”