Handscomb: Australia to play with freedom

Australia middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb believes their relatively inexperienced squad can actually help the team to play well against a sub-continent team like Bangladesh as they can play with more freedom. “We don’t have the experience in the sub-continent as much as the other players. [Matt] Renshaw and myself were quite lucky to play in India, which will put us in good stead for these two Test matches. I actually don’t think it is a bad thing as well, going into the sub-continent with an open mind,” Handscomb told the media in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

What to do when all the carriages are full #watchyourhead #bangladesh

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“I think if you haven’t played too many games in the sub-continent, you are not too worried about what the ball might do. You can play with a bit more freedom, rather than going in with the expectations that the ball will do everything,” he said.

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Also read: Aussies decline to play practice match

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The warm-up game ahead of the first Test against the Tigers, scheduled to begin on Sunday, might get canceled as the scheduled ground, the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, has been unavailable due to waterlogged condition. It was learnt that the Australian delegation team has rejected the alternate venues for the game. But Handscomb said the Australians have prepared themselves well enough in Darwin and even if there is no practice match then there would be no problems for the visiting team.

Just getting a little bit of work in. #havetohaveto #gymtime #dhakalifeA post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31) on Aug 19, 2017 at 2:03am PDT

“I don’t think we will be going into the first Test cold, regardless whether the tour match goes ahead or not. We had a great preparation up in Darwin. We managed to play an intra-squad three-day game there. I think everyone got what they needed out of it. We know obviously that the BCB is doing everything they can to get the pitches up for us. Whatever training we get here depends on the weather of course. I am sure the boys will be fine and ready to go,” he said. Handscomb admitted that Bangladesh are a challenging side on home soil and that the Aussies will try to implement their plan against the competitive host.

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Also read: Smith wary of Tigers threat

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“Obviously we know as a whole that the Bangladesh side in their own conditions are going to be a very strong team. We have a team meeting this week where we will go through the entire squad that Bangladesh have put forward and we will be trying to formulate a few plans there and see how we go,” he said. Handscomb was a tennis player in his junior days but chose cricket instead as time wore on. “I used to play a bit of tennis, but not as good as how Bernard Tomic plays. It was great fun playing tennis growing up. The decision was made pretty much itself. I couldn’t win tennis games anymore but I could make a few runs with the bat. I still love my tennis and try to get to the Australian Open whenever I can. I am a fan of Roger Federer,” he concluded.