Smith weighs in on Bancroft dismissal

The mesmerising skill of Proteas veteran seamer Vernon Philander made Cameron Bancroft’s first Test innings on foreign soil a short one.

Bancroft was out for five in the sixth over of day one in Durban after he walked down the wicket to Philander and edged the right-armer behind to gloveman Quinton de Kock.

It was a strange tactic by Bancroft but not one out of the blue; the Western Australian had been practicing the move in the practice nets in the lead-up to the first Test against his squad’s specialist swing bowler Chadd Sayers, perhaps the Australian who closest resembles Philander.

Unfortunately for Bancroft it was unsuccessful on Thursday, but former South Africa captain Graeme Smith says it was the skill and reputation of Philander that caused the opener to attempt something "out of the ordinary".

"Mentally, he has the ability to move batsmen around the crease and work them out, which is a great asset to have," Smith told cricket.com.au on day one at Kingsmead.

"His skill out of the hand, he’s always at you. His lines, his lengths are always probing. 

"He’s got a unique ability to get the ball to talk, almost Glenn McGrath-like. 

"At 128kph, we’ve spoken so often about the pace of both sides but he’s got great skill."

Bancroft has scored 102 runs in seven innings since his unbeaten 82 in the second innings at the Gabba at the start of the summer, and Smith says today’s dismissal will only build on any "mental stress" the opener has.

"I don’t know if it was a pre-planned thing for him to use his feet to Philander," Smith said.

"It just seemed unnecessary.

"I just felt the surface was slow, there was an opportunity for him to work hard and get himself in.

"I don’t think he needed to do anything out of the ordinary and he almost got himself into trouble doing it. 

"A guy that’s under a little bit of pressure, maybe some mental stress going on there and that dismissal is not going to help him."

Bancroft’s opening partner, David Warner, said the shuffle down the pitch was to put off Philander’s immaculate line and length and expects the 25-year-old to do it again when given the chance.

Warner had a heart to heart with Bancroft after they were both dismissed and is confident the right-hander’s form will turn around. 

"We sat upstairs for quite a while and I spoke to him about the way he approaches it," Warner told reporters after play. 

"‘Do you feel like sometimes you have to go after the ball? Is it nervous energy?’ 

"He was quite insightful, I understood him and where he was coming from. 

"He puts in the hard work in at training and prepares as well as he can. 

"You look back at the Shield (innings) against us and our bowling attack at Hurstville was one of the best innings I’ve seen from him to date. 

"I always talk to him about going back to that and thinking about how did you go so well and how can you replicate that on the big stage here. 

"It’s a different game, there’s a lot of pressure about.

"I know he’s so focused on his preparation. We can’t fault that. 

"It’s just not happening out there at the moment. It will happen, you just need some luck in this game."

AUSTRALIA XI: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

SOUTH AFRICA XI: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel.

Qantas tour of South Africa

South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match: Australia beat South Africa A by five wickets. Report, highlights

First Test Kingsmead, Durban, March 1-5

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3