Bancroft just short of Waugh's epic record

The Cameron Bancroft bat-a-thon at Bankstown Oval has seen the Western Australian opener become the first man this century and the fourth all-time to face more than 600 deliveries in a single Sheffield Shield match.

In a stunning feat of endurance, Bancroft spent all but 10 balls of WA’s match against NSW - his first four-day game since he was banned last March - on the field.

In all, the opener soaked up a total of 621 deliveries to post scores of 138 not out and 86 as the Blues sparked a late collapse after tea on the final day to win by an innings and 51 runs.

He spent a total of more than 13 hours at the crease across the two innings, batting for 788 minutes in the match.

Bancroft fell just 28 balls short of breaking Steve Waugh’s all-time Shield record for the most deliveries faced in a game, the former Test captain’s mark of 649 set in 1996 against Queensland still the most in the Shield’s history.

Bancroft’s tally of 621 is the fourth-most in Shield cricket and he also broke his own Western Australian record of 567 set against NSW at the WACA in 2015.

He's the only man to have faced more than 550 balls in a Shield match twice.

The right-hander appeared on track to break Waugh’s record, but his dismissal early in the final session was the first of four wickets to fall in the space of 11 balls as the Blues secured the win.

Bancroft’s dismissal, stumped off the bowling of Steve O’Keefe, also denied him the rare feat of carrying his bat twice in the same first-class match.

The opener’s 336-day stint without first-class cricket has seemingly done nothing to dampen his powers of concentration and his reputation as the marathon man of Australian cricket.

His gritty knock in the first innings represented the sixth time he's faced 300 or more deliveries in a Shield innings, far beyond what any other active domestic player has managed since the right-hander’s debut five summers ago.

His former Warriors teammates Adam Voges and Michael Klinger, both of whom are now retired, managed the feat five and three times respectively over that same period.

Among current players, only Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill, Alex Doolan, Will Bosisto and Will Pucovski have done it on multiple occasions over the past five seasons.

For context, only three active Australian men have batted for 300-plus deliveries in Test cricket during the same time-frame; Steve Smith (six times), Usman Khawaja (three times) and Joe Burns (once).

Bancroft's ability to soak up pressure and bat time was one of the key factors in him winning a Test debut at the start of last summer's Ashes and will no doubt be his major attraction to selectors as he aims to win his Test spot back.

And the right-hander is set to receive plenty of opportunities to push his case for a recall for this year’s Ashes tour; once Western Australia's Shield season is over, he'll head to the north of England where he's set to join county side Durham.

"What's in my control is these four Shield games for Western Australia," he told ABC Grandstand ahead of WA's clash with the Blues. "I've committed to playing county cricket with Durham in the winter as well.

"They're the things I can control and really look forward to and put my energy into."

Most balls faced in a Sheffield Shield match

649 – Steve Waugh, NSW v Qld, 1996

628 – Bob Simpson, NSW v Qld, 1963

626 - Rick McCosker, NSW v WA, 1974

621 - Cameron Bancroft, WA v NSW, 2019

589 – John Dyson, NSW v SA, 1984

571 - Greg Shipperd, Tas v WA, 1989

567 – Cameron Bancroft, WA v NSW, 2015