(Photo: Getty Images)
By Guy Williams
Yorkshire’s Australian Test batsman Peter Handscomb is trapped and frustrated by the increasingly bitter pay dispute between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association – a crisis which, if not settled, threatens to derail this winter’s Ashes series.
Before that unimaginable nightmare happens, Handscomb and Australia are scheduled to play two Tests in Bangladesh. Failure to reach a deal – the old one expired last month – has resulted in Handscomb and more than 200 Australian cricketers becoming unpaid and unemployed. The breakdown in talks has also led to the cancellation of an A-tour to South Africa.
Victorian right-hander Handscomb, who scored two hundreds against Pakistan over the New Year, averages 54.27 after eight Tests and should be returning home at the beginning of August to prepare for Bangladesh.
Indeed, his last match at Yorkshire came this week with Sarfraz Ahmed replacing him at Headingley.
Picking his words carefully to avoid making matters worse, Handscomb said: “We’re going into our first month without pay as Australian players and there are over 200 players back home who are, essentially, out of work. A lot are rookies trying to make their way. All the players have 100 per cent faith in the ACA. They do an amazing job for us.
“Perhaps the Australian Government should come in as a mediator. Anything to get the talks going. The longer the dispute goes on, the worse it looks. We all want to play in the Ashes but know there are bigger things at play. As a group, we need to protect grassroots cricket, protect the youngsters coming up and our women cricketers must get the pay they deserve as well.
“We obviously hope that Cricket Australia can see our point of view so we can come to an understanding and there’s some doubt that Bangladesh will go ahead if there’s no agreement.”
Ashes selection would mean Handscomb facing Yorkshire team-mates – England skipper Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and, possibly, Gary Ballance and Adil Rashid.
“We’ve had banter in the dressing room but nothing too hard. It’ll be nice to catch up with them and have a beer. It’ll be great to play against them. Joe’s a lovely man and has taken well to Test captaincy. It suits him nicely. From the times we have chatted and batted together, Joe’s got a level head on his shoulders and I’ve no doubt that he will do well in Australia, but we’ll have our plans for him.
“It will be a hard contest and we’ll get into each other’s faces a bit, but it will be all in good faith. We feel we can win from any position and no matter what’s going on in the game, we are looking to win and a draw is the last option. Australia have a strong mentality and a winning culture.
“I think it will be a close series, but, mate, I reckon we’ll win at home because any team are hard to beat on their own soil. Our quicks are pretty good. James Pattinson’s coming back, he’s done well at Nottinghamshire, Paddy Cummins is hitting his straps and staying on the park, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood do their thing and to top it off, Nathan Lyon comes in and plays his role by spinning it big and taking wickets. So we’ll be hard to beat,” said the thoughtful Handscomb, who has impressed Yorkshire with his maturity.
Growing up in Melbourne, he made his first-class debut for Victoria in 2011 and Test debut against South Africa in November 2016 at Adelaide, Handscomb is naturally thrilled at the prospect of appearing in an Ashes Test at the MCG.
“It’s going to mean a lot to me. You grow up going to the Boxing Day Test. There’s 80-90,000 there, so it’s remarkable. Playing in an Ashes series is always something you do in the backyard with your mates. Yes, I suppose it was an ambition, but I suppose it’s tough at a young age to know whether you’re going to be able to do it. Hopefully, I will get the opportunity this year.
“The atmosphere is loud. Essentially, the MCG is a colosseum and with the first ball there’s always a nice big roar when the bowler is running in, and when Australia get a wicket the crowd go nuts. It’s the opposite when England get a wicket. It goes quiet which is strange when there are so many in the stadium.
“I managed to play in the Boxing Day Test last year but because of the rain I didn’t get a bat until the fourth day so I walked out in front of only 7,000 people. That wasn’t how I envisaged it in my head, so I am hoping to get the chance in front of a big Boxing Day crowd against England.
“We had a good team when I was growing up. It was great to watch Ricky Ponting go about his business and Steve Waugh was brilliant, too.
“I still remember the four off the last ball of the day bowled by Richard Dawson to bring up Steve’s hundred in 2002.”
The uncertainty relating to Handscomb’s immediate future has consequences for Yorkshire, his current employers, for whom his form has been satisfactory rather than spectacular – 441 Championship runs at 36.75 with one hundred and two 50s, but in white ball games he’s been more successful scoring 504 runs with one century and three 50s at 63 in the Royal London Cup.
Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said: “I’ve asked him where the dispute stands. Australia go to Bangladesh soon and we’ve got someone in the pipeline depending on what happens to Pete, so another player will come in. If not, Pete may hang around a bit, so he could be with us until the end of the T20 Blast.
“He will be the first to admit he would have liked a few more runs in red-ball cricket, but Pete’s contribution in white ball stuff has been outstanding. He’s fitted in well, Pete’s mature for his age and hasn’t been frightened to say what he thinks in the dressing room. He’s almost a mid 30-year-old and has been a breath of fresh air.
“I think his technique suits Australian pitches more than England conditions and he’s changed his approach quite a bit in England, but Pete has shown for Australia that he can play successfully in the international arena.
“As regards the Ashes, I think there’s been a bit of banter between him and Rooty when we saw Joe back here for a bit. It’s built up in the Press that the players hate each other, but when you’ve got them in the same dressing room they get on really well.”
So it may well be that if the pay row in Australia drags on and the tour to Bangladesh is cancelled, Yorkshire could benefit and so would Handscomb’s pocket because he’s now relying on his Yorkshire pay.
