A middle-order batsman equally comfortable against spin as pace, Peter Handscomb earned his first Test call-up in 2016-17 after a prolific period for Victoria. His inclusion for the Adelaide Test against South Africa followed a career-best 215 in the Sheffield Shield, and the previous summer he had been the competition's third-leading run scorer. Handscomb immediately showed his comfort at Test level by striking 54 on debut against South Africa in Adelaide, also striking the winning runs, and a maiden century came in his next Test against Pakistan at the Gabba. By the end of his first home summer of Test cricket, Handscomb was in the remarkable position of having not been dismissed below 50 in any of his first seven innings of Test cricket - the first player in Test history to have achieved that feat.

Handscomb had been on the radar of Australia's national selectors for some time, having captained Australia A and been part of Australia's ODI squad in England in 2015 without playing a match. The owner of a British passport as the Australian-born son of English parents, Handscomb was a talented junior tennis player but chose a career on the pitch rather than on the court. A sometime wicketkeeper, particularly early in his career, Handscomb settled in the No.4 position with Victoria as a specialist batsman. He has also spent time in county cricket, playing with Gloucestershire in 2015 as an overseas player.
Brydon Coverdale