Cameron Bancroft should be on plane to England this year after stunning Sheffield Shield season
Cameron Bancroft played the opening two Ashes Tests in 2019 before being axed, but there’s support growing for a return to England.
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Former Test opener Cameron Bancroft should be a certain inclusion in Australia’s Ashes squad after a Sheffield Shield season that eclipsed every other batter.
Bancroft hasn’t played for Australia since being dumped after two Tests of the 2019 Ashes in England when he started as David Warner’s opening partner before being replaced by Marcus Harris.
In that series, Warner returned the lowest ever amount of runs by an opening batter in a five-Test series, making just 95, and his spot is not guaranteed ahead of a return to the UK later this year.
In the wake of Western Australia’s second-successive Shield triumph, coach Adam Voges said Bancroft, who pounded 945 runs at an average of 59.06, with four centuries, couldn’t be overlooked when the squad was picked.
Bancroft’s haul was 300 runs clear of the next-best performed batter, South Australia’s Daniel Drew, although Victorian captain Peter Handscomb registered more than 500 runs in the first half of the season before getting his own Test call-up in India.
The last two batters to pass 1000 runs in a Shield season, Victoria opener Marcus Harris and Tasmania‘s Matthew Wade in the summer of 2018-19, were both rewarded with Ashes call-ups in 2019 and Voges is adamant Bancroft demands a chance.
“Cameron‘s been building to a season like this for a little while now,” the WA coach said.
“Technically, I think he‘s in a much better space than he has been previously.
“I think you‘re always more ready the second time around. He’ll learn from the experiences and he’ll certainly be much better for it.”
“Batting out here (at the WACA), particularly opening the batting, is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
“For him to be able to overcome those challenges and then really go on and convert some of those starts into big scores, I‘m really pleased for him.
“He’ had a tremendous 12 months and I think he should be rewarded with a seat on the plane to England in the winter.”
Bancroft, who hit the winning runs in WA’s nine-wicket win at the WACA on Sunday, has signed for a stint in county cricket with Somerset prior to the Tests starting in June to potentially enhance his selection chances.
Originally published as Cameron Bancroft should be on plane to England this year after stunning Sheffield Shield season
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