GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S new overseas signing Peter Handscomb has got going at The County Ground in the knowledge that he will be playing for his country against India during the summer.
And the Aussie has had ringing endorsements about his talent from joint county captain Geraint Jones.
The 23-year-old stepped into serious action this week as Gloucestershire played Cardiff MCCU in a three-day warm-up.
And Handscomb has now been selected for the Australia A team’s tour of the sub-continent after an outstanding season down under that saw him average 45 in one-day cricket, and he was one of only two players, along with Gloucestershire team-mate Michael Klinger, to make a Big Bash League hundred.
He is covering for Klinger before the county’s other joint captain arrives on British shores next month.
And he has already wowed the handful of faithful fans who watched Gloucestershire’s warm-up by hitting 32 in 27 balls, including five boundaries, in the team’s first innings 377-6 declared on Tuesday.
Jones said: “Daws (head coach Richard Dawson) has done brilliantly to get Peter here. People may not know too much about him but anyone who watched the Big Bash closely will have seen a great hundred he scored.
“He has been scoring runs consistently in first-class cricket and the thing is he is desperate to do well. He is keen to come in, make a mark and prove himself. As an overseas player, that’s what a county wants, to come in and improve the squad and help some young guys by dragging them forward and making them better players.
“I am looking forward to Peter playing. It is going to create some competition on the batting side of things."
Jones added: “Peter is filling in the gap period that Michael is not playing, so up until Michael’s arrival, Pete will be playing in the Championship as the overseas player and then in the T20s you can play two, and Michael goes again in September to play in the Champions Trophy for the Perth side that won the Big Bash, so Pete will fill in at the back end.”
And Handscomb’s role is not just about being out on the square. He will have periods out of the side when Klinger arrives, but Jones added: “He has committed the season to us and, when he is not playing, he has talked about being involved at the club and around not just the first team but the second team.
“So to get that level of commitment from an overseas player shows how keen he is to be part of it and that was a big factor. When Richard mentioned that was what he was keen to do, it was great to have him on board.
“There is no doubt that someone like that will have a positive effect.”
Handscomb, speaking to the Gloucestershire Cricket website after his innings against Cardiff, said: “Getting to thirty was a start but that’s all it was. Ideally, you want to make a big score but I was just pleased to be out there.”