Handscomb posts 82 on ODI debut

Peter Handscomb reckons he needs to buy himself a lottery ticket after his contribution to Australia's victory in Perth on Thursday night.

And after the dream summer he's had, you wouldn't be surprised if he won the jackpot.

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The Victorian has made his own luck in the early stages of his international career, which has so far yielded two Test hundreds, two fifties and an average just shy of 100.

But there was no doubt the cricket gods were on his side against Pakistan at the WACA Ground, where he was dismissed off a no-ball from the third ball he faced and then dropped at backward point when on 10 from a delivery that replays showed should have also been called a no-ball.

Handscomb spared of debut duck by no-ball

"Yeah 100 per cent, I think I need to buy a lottery ticket tonight," Handscomb said when asked if his ODI debut innings of 82 was one of the luckiest knocks of his career.

"I guess, I've been working really hard to get everything going to this point so that when I do get the opportunity I try to grab it with both hands.

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"Obviously today was very lucky, initially getting caught off a no-ball and then dropped at backward point. Although I think it shows on the replay that that was a no-ball as well so I actually missed out on a free hit there, which was a bit disappointing.

"Then from there I was able to play my own game and go about it the way I normally do."

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Good fortune aside, Handscomb was able to carry his supreme Test form into his first taste of ODI cricket, his score of 82 the third-highest by an Australian on debut.

Fortune favours debutant Handscomb

He also became the first Australian since Shaun Marsh in 2011 to post a score of fifty or more in his maiden innings in both Test and one-day cricket.

Incredibly for a player of his talent, it was also his highest score in 47 one-day innings at either domestic or international level, the absence of a 50-over century at List A level pointed out this week by former national selector and Tasmania batsman Jamie Cox.

While admitting his 50-over domestic record that includes an average of just 31 "isn't great", Handscomb said his Test form this summer gave him confidence that he could handle the jump in class.

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But he concedes he remains a work in progress in white-ball cricket.

"I felt good throughout the entire summer and I knew if I came out today and just tried to play the way the team wanted me to play then that's all I could do," he said.

"I wasn't too worried about what had happened in previous years.

"I understand my one-day record in domestic cricket isn't great but to come out here and do what the team needs, that was my only job today and it was great to be able to do it.

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"I need to find a way to score off more balls. In the longer format you can let a lot go, you can really wait until the ball's in your zone to hit. Whereas here you need to start fabricating a few shots and making a few things up, which I'm working on and obviously trying to score quicker.

"But I've got to let my own game develop in the way that will let that happen."

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur lamented the opportunities his side missed in the field, but denied that paceman Junaid Khan - the bowler who overstepped on both occasions - was a serial offender.

Arthur laments missed opportunities

"Junaid was battling into the Fremantle Doctor a little bit so that caused him to over-stride, but it's still no excuse," Arthur said.

"We've got to be keeping our foot behind the line.

"Every little opportunity ... we have to take to be competing with Australia in these conditions.

"Where we're at as a team, we just can't afford those little lapses. So that was particularly disappointing."