West Australian run machine Cameron Bancroft forces his way into Ashes selection
WEST Australian run machine Cameron Bancroft is banging down the door for first Test selection after an unbeaten double ton. Now selectors must work out how to fit him in.
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AUSTRALIAN selectors will today decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for the Ashes: Matt Renshaw, or an all-rounder at No.6.
West Australian run-machine Cameron Bancroft cannot be denied for the first Test after turning his ton into an unbeaten double century at the WACA, and it’s now up to selectors to work out how to fit him in.
Bancroft is best suited as an opener where he has amassed a stunning 425 runs at an average of 141.66 in just two and a half games this season, but that would require making the agonising call to axe an out-of-form Renshaw without giving the 21-year-old the chance he perhaps deserves to try and resurrect himself in Test match conditions.
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Perhaps the softer option is to slot Bancroft into No.6 where there is a clear vacancy, however such a move would rob Australia of the preferred luxury of having an all-rounder up their sleeve that could take pressure off the precious pace attack, who are vying to get through a five-match series.
Incumbent Glenn Maxwell is in the mix and his performance at the MCG on Wednesday will be telling, while selector Mark Waugh this week declared Marcus Stoinis the best all-rounder in the country.
He remains an option as does fellow WA talent Hilton Cartwright, who could contribute a few overs.
It’s a massive conundrum — but the simple fact is Bancroft has made himself impossible to leave out and after demanding Sheffield Shield runs from their candidates, selectors must now fit the jigsaw pieces around the tenacious 24-year-old right-hander.
There is no perfect solution but it’s Bancroft or bust.
As if he hadn’t already done enough to cement a debut baggy green, the kid from Perth put it beyond any doubt on Tuesday when he grinded South Australia into the dirt with a superb 228 not out, which carried on from a 76 not out carrying his bat against a star-studded NSW attack the week before.
Experts rate his defence as good as any batsman in the country, yet he is also a run-scorer with multiple gears and he can move the rate on as well — as he proved in a double ton featuring 22 boundaries and three sixes.
In contrast, Renshaw was strangled down the leg-side for just 1 in Queensland’s match against NSW — continuing a run-of-outs that has netted him just 70 runs from six knocks this season, with a highest score of 19.
It could be argued Renshaw has been unlucky this match with a dubious caught behind call in the first dig, but glaring issues of technique and confidence are difficult to ignore.
Cartwright averaged 50 last Sheffield Shield season but hasn’t fired when the heat has been on, while Stoinis’ appearances so far this summer have been hampered by family issues, as he’s taken leave at various times to be with his sick father.
Selectors Trevor Hohns, Darren Lehmann, Greg Chappell and Mark Waugh will enter a room sometime in the afternoon, and won’t emerge until nightfall, or when a squad for the first two Tests is chosen.
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It’s understood Bancroft is not being considered as wicketkeeper and Peter Nevill looks set to reclaim the gloves despite an underwhelming 17 yesterday for NSW.
Former Test wicketkeeper and current Australian fielding coach Brad Haddin said the side doesn’t necessarily need a keeper that scores regular hundreds, just one that can bat to all situations.
“We had an exception to the rule with Gilly (Adam Gilchrist),” said Haddin.
“He’s a once in a generation player and one of the best ever to play the game.
“From a keeper’s point of view, it’s not so much about the hundreds as about where they get their runs.
“Stopping a collapse is a big one. To take that role where you take the score from a bad day to a competitive total (that can be a huge difference). We have a group of bowlers that can defend most totals.
“You’ve just got to make sure you understand the momentum of the game and scoring runs at the right time.”