Ashes 2017/18: Ricky Ponting Feels Peter Handscomb Must Change His Technique To Excel in Test Cricket

Former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting has raised question over middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb’s technique against the swing and seam of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The second Test is evenly poised at the moment as the tourists require another 178 runs to win and level the series one all. England dismissed the hosts for a mere 138 runs in the second innings which meant that England required 354 runs to win the match.

Handscomb has been widely criticized for his unusual batting technique which majorly depends on the back foot making him vulnerable against the master of swing bowling James Anderson. Handscomb has scored 14, 36 and 12 in the first three innings of the Ashes series and cricket pundits have asked the right-handed batsman to change his technique which prominently depends on playing on the back foot.

Ricky Ponting said that a change needs to be made if Handscomb wants to flourish in the Test format:

“It’s very unusual, I’ve never seen it before. You see a lot of people finish in that position after they’ve pushed back from their front foot onto their back foot and finish six inches from their stumps, but I’ve never seen anyone start there.”That, in itself, could mean there’s some sort of issue going on. I’m not sure what it might be but batting back there he’s trying to give himself as much time as he possibly can. If he’s always done it and that’s the technique he wants to stick with that’s fine, but when you see him start moving his feet like he did today; one ball (he was) two feet outside off stump, the next ball outside leg stump, that’s going to make batting pretty difficult.” 

“There’s going to be a few things there that need to be changed as far as I’m concerned. If he keeps moving around like he does and moving back in front of his stumps it just looks like he’s making batting more difficult for himself.”

Talking about his technique to bat on the back foot Ponting said, “Even the fact that he’s not scoring off the front foot, one thing you have to be able to do in Test cricket is score off the front foot, especially in conditions where the ball is moving, the majority of the deliveries are going to be front-foot deliveries. Let’s hope he can address it quickly and he can get back into some sort of touch before the next Test.”