Bancroft heads east to join Warner at Thunder

Cameron Bancroft will reunite with former Test opening partner David Warner at the Sydney Thunder.

As revealed by cricket.com.au last month, the Thunder today unveiled Bancroft as their star recruit for KFC BBL|13 on a three-year deal.

The 30-year-old was one of the biggest names on the market this off-season after he was squeezed out of the Perth Scorchers salary cap following a career-best season in BBL|12.

The right-hander, who was in and out of the Scorchers side across his eight years at the club, won his first Big Bash title last season having not been selected in their previous four triumphs.

As many as six clubs were believed to be interested in Bancroft following a career-best BBL campaign with the Perth Scorchers, with the Thunder edging out the Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Renegades for his services.

"We're obviously delighted to have secured Cam and have him as a part of our group for the next three years," said Andrew Gilchrist, Head of Sydney Thunder.

"His talent and ability to contribute on field is evident, but he's also a fantastic person and we know the value he'll add to our group off field.

"His experience at the top of the order will be immense for us and his form, particularly in the second half of last season, made him one of the competition's biggest targets this off-season."

Bancroft missed selection in the Scorchers' opening five games of BBL|12 but made the most of his opportunity after replacing Englishman Adam Lyth halfway through the season.

In 11 matches he hit 357 runs at 51, with only Sydney Sixers superstar Steve Smith (86.5) averaging more for the tournament (min 200 runs).

His strike-rate of 140 was also more than 15 runs higher than his career T20 mark, making the out-of-contract opener one of the league's most sought-after signatures.

And due to Perth's star-studded depth, with five CA centrally contracted players and seven internationally-capped squad members already on their list for next season, other clubs were able to make Bancroft a more lucrative offer.

"Cameron made a significant contribution during his time with the Scorchers, performing a variety of roles with the bat while upholding exceptionally high standards in the field," said Kade Harvey, Perth's general manager of high performance.

"Although losing a player of Cameron's calibre is never ideal, we are comfortable with our depth of local talent, while the upcoming international draft will provide us with another opportunity to improve our list."

With Warner recently flagging his intention to retire from Test cricket after the New Year's Test at the SCG against Pakistan, the pair are set to open together once more in the second half of BBL|12.

Bancroft and Warner last opened together in the Lord's Test of Australia's 2019 Ashes tour, after which Bancroft was dropped for Marcus Harris.

Image Id: 6770492392B6424C9FFC2E9E2C577C85 Image Caption: Bancroft played in his first title with the Scorchers in BBL|12 // Getty

In 18 innings opening the batting in Test cricket they have averaged 45.35 with their highest partnership an unbeaten 173-run stand during Bancroft's Test debut in the first Ashes Test of 2017-18.

Bancroft, who is Perth's third leading run-scorer of all-time with 1595, is the second premiership player confirmed to be departing the Scorchers this week after Hobart Hurricanes announced on Monday that leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou would be joining the club for BBL|13.

Hatzoglou featured in 10 matches for the Scorchers last season but missed out on selection for the final at Perth Stadium.

He was part of their BBL|11 championship XI when Perth played several of their home games at the more spin-friendly venue of Marvel Stadium due to Western Australia's pandemic border restrictions.

He is the second 'cult' spinner to join the club in the past two seasons after Paddy Dooley in BBL|12, with the unique left-armer one of the breakout stars of the tournament with 19 wickets at 12.78 with an exception economy rate of 6.56.

Hatzoglou had a similar breakout season in BBL|10, after being plucked from relative obscurity by the Melbourne Renegades as a local replacement player for Will Sutherland. 

He went on to play 13 of the Renegades 14 games that season, taking an impressive 17 wickets at an average of 22.88.

The following year Hatzoglou made the move to the Scorchers, taking a total of 23 wickets across his two seasons at the club, while also forging a reputation as a short-form specialist in T20 leagues around the world, including the Pakistan Super League, Hundred and Abu Dhabi T10 competition.

The 24-year-old is currently representing Glamorgan in England's T20 Blast competition where he has claimed 14 wickets in 11 matches.

"I really enjoyed my time at the Perth Scorchers, I had an absolute ball and winning back-to-back premierships was awesome for me and for the team," Hatzoglou said on Monday from the UK.

"But I guess things were coming to a natural end and I'm really happy to now be at Hobart to try and win a premiership with a really strong core group of players."

The right-armer will come up against some of his new BBL teammates on Friday when Glamorgan take on a Hampshire side featuring Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis.

"I'm fortunate I have established some friendships with a lot of the guys and I guess that'll make my transition into the team a little bit easier I hope," he said.

"I'm looking forward to coming in, getting to know some of the guys and the staff a bit better, and contributing whatever small part I can to hopefully the ultimate on-field success."

Hobart Hurricanes BBL|13 squad (so far): Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Peter Hatzoglou, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade

Sydney Thunder BBL|13 squad (so far): Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner