Calm Handscomb remains balanced after early success

Loudly, and with much fanfare, David Warner created history on the first morning in Sydney by becoming the only man to score a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test in Australia. His ovation was standing and his celebration electric.

Quietly, and with little ceremony, Peter Handscomb created history on the second morning by becoming the only specialist batsman in history to progress through his first six Test innings without being dismissed for less than 50. When he tickled a single to fine leg, his ovation was seated and his celebration muted.

By stumps, Handscomb had made his second century, and his Test innings so far make for impressive reading: 54, 1*, 105, 35*, 54, 110. The only others to have gone through six innings without a sub-50 dismissal have been tail-enders whose figures are skewed by not-outs: James Anderson in modern times and Jimmy Blackenberg, a South African of the golden age of cricket.

Handscomb also equalled an Australian record set by Herbie Collins in 1920-21 - they are the only two Australians to make a 50-plus score in each of their first four Tests. This is all by way of highlighting that Handscomb has been unflustered at Test level, and his cool head is a welcome addition to the middle order.

When later he worked a single through midwicket to bring up a century from his 195th delivery, Handscomb did not sprint and leap or pump his fists. He simply walked a few steps after completing the run, removed his helmet and calmly raised his bat, then received a handshake and a quick pat on the back from his partner Matthew Wade.

But if Handscomb's numbers suggest that he has found Test cricket easy, he is quick to dispel that misconception. He is also well aware that he has entered Test cricket at a good time, on familiar pitches, and that he has had his strokes of luck along the way. The first ball that Handscomb faced in Test cricket was a pearler from Vernon Philander that swung away and whizzed past the outside edge.

Handscomb was one of three debutants in that Adelaide Test against South Africa and one, Nic Maddinson, has already been dropped from the side. Unlike Handscomb, Maddinson came in for his first Test innings during the difficult time under lights in the pink-ball Test, and struggled to bounce back from the duck that he made that evening.

"I've been very lucky in the way that I've come in, in my own conditions, in my own country, I have a good understanding of what was going to be coming at me," Handscomb said. "Also, in Shield cricket, the wickets aren't as good as they are in Test cricket, so you take that next step you're getting flatter wickets as well, which is awesome from a batting point of view. Had I debuted somewhere else it might have been a different story.

"It is a game where timing is almost everything and to throw a cliché in there, it's a game of millimetres. I nick that first ball off Philander in Adelaide, I'm out for a golden duck in my first Test. What could have been? It hasn't, which has been really lucky for me, I've just been happy to have taken those chances and made the scores that I have."

A far greater challenge for Handscomb will come when Australia embark on a four-Test tour of India next month, although the early signs for his ability to handle spin are encouraging. In his Sydney century, Handscomb scored 38 off 56 balls that he faced against Yasir Shah, and his footwork - both advancing down the pitch and moving back deep in his crease - keeps the bowler from developing a rhythm.

Against the fast men, Handscomb bats so deep in his crease that he appears a prime candidate for a hit-wicket dismissal, and in fact that was how his innings ended here, when he played back against Wahab Riaz and dislodged the leg bail. However, it was the first time in 183 innings at first-class, List A and Twenty20 level that Handscomb had been out hit wicket.

"I heard something as I played the shot, I didn't actually feel anything on my bat, but when I turned around and saw the bail dislodged I was a little bit worried that I had hit it," he said. "First time, even though I bat so deep, so there you go."

Handscomb was on 110 at the time, and he finished the day with 304 runs at 101.33 in this series. Pakistan's coach, Mickey Arthur, said Handscomb was the kind of batsman who made bowlers feel they had a chance, yet the Pakistan bowlers were yet to emerge victorious from a battle with him.

"It's an interesting technique, but it's one that he seems very confident with, it's one that he plays very well with," Arthur said. "He hits the ball very late, he hits the ball under his eyes. You always feel you've got a chance coming around the wicket at him, but he generally scores very well through the leg side. We've tried all sorts. We've analysed him to the nth degree and he just keeps coming up trumps."