Bancroft keeps eye on Shield prize as Test berth beckons

Ex-Australia opener Cameron Bancroft concedes he was "disappointed" to have missed selection in this year's Ashes squad but has not subsequently turned his mind to the vacancy that will beckon at the top of the Test batting order before summer's end.

Bancroft finished last season as the Marsh Sheffield Shield competition's leading runs scorer with 945 at an average of almost 60, but fellow former Test-capped opener Marcus Harris was preferred as back-up to incumbent pair David Warner and Usman Khawaja for Australia's Ashes defence.

With Warner having flagged his intention to retire from Test cricket after the final NRMA Insurance Test against Pakistan in January, Bancroft further strengthened his already strong case for a recall by posting a patient 122 for Western Australia in their 2023-24 Shield opener against Victoria.

However the 30-year-old, who played the most recent of his 10 Tests during Australia's previous Ashes campaign in the UK four years ago, has not sought nor received any indication from selectors as to whether he's in the frame for the West Indies Tests that follow this summer's Pakistan series.

Bancroft understands runs are the sole currency on which his stocks rise and fall, and his singular focus is scoring as many as possible to help WA clinch their first Shield three-peat since their star-studded era of the late 1980s.

"That's really it, at least from my perspective," Bancroft said when asked if there was anything other than weight of runs that might further aid his cause for a Test call-up.

"And I'd like to think that's probably the same from their (selectors') end as well.

"Everything else outside of that, I'm not aware of it and to be honest, it's not really that important for me to have an awareness or an understanding.

"The only way to continue is to focus on what I can control, and that's obviously trying to be as consistent as I can and giving myself a really good opportunity to play well. 

"It's what I'd want to do, regardless of contentions (for Test berths) and those things.

"I'm just really present with that and focusing on getting us into a good position to hopefully win another Shield this season."

Bancroft admits that since losing his Test opening berth to Harris during the 2019 Ashes series he has endured a couple of form slumps prior to his stellar 2022-23.

The most memorable was the string of dismissals to catches at leg gully that became a talking point in 2019-20, though it was understood a perceived vulnerability to deliveries that moved late off the seam ultimately saw him overlooked for this year's England tour.

It was in a bid to further tighten an already solid defence that Bancroft returned to England for another stint in county ranks – this time with Somerset – earlier this year, in addition to turning out for Australia A in games against New Zealand A which showed he remains in the selectors' thinking.

The right-hander rates himself "a little bit better" player than he was when he accumulated his 10 Test caps between 2017 and 2019, and has also developed a more philosophical view on how to cope with the highs and lows he experienced during that period.

"Every young Aussie cricketer wants to play for Australia, and I'm no different, that's something I would love to be able to do again," he said prior to WA's next Shield encounter, against Tasmania at the WACA Ground starting tomorrow.

"And the more first-class cricket you play you learn a lot about your game, you learn a lot about yourself and even playing in different environments or different teams, you slowly build up a bank of knowledge.

"I still probably haven't reached the pinnacle of what that is, but I'd like to think I've improved a lot and I'm slowly getting better as each day and each season goes by.

"There's probably some things that you just have to go through as a player, and that period in my career was just an experience that I had to live through and kind of struggle a little bit. 

"I certainly feel like those sorts of experiences only strengthen your resolve and who you are as cricketer."

Bancroft's 122 (off 319 balls) and five catches earned him player of the match in last week's first-up win over the 2022-23 Shield runners-up, but it was the scope of WA's win by an innings and 53 runs that underscored the vast strength of the reigning champions' squad.

That will only increase against Tasmania, with Test-capped allrounder Hilton Cartwright and fast-bowling sensation Lance Morris returning from injury for the loss of seamer Cameron Gannon who has been ruled out with a quadriceps strain.

And while WA's 13-man squad is strewn with players who have either represented Australia or are currently pushing for national selection, Bancroft identified the contributions of debutant Liam Haskins and recalled batter Jayden Goodwin – playing his first Shield game since 2021 – as vital in last week's success.

By contrast, Tasmania have lost the services of ex-Test bowlers Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle who have returned to their home states but unveiled a new-look bowling line-up that dismantled South Australia twice inside three days in their Shield opener last week.

Their stocks have been further boosted by the return of top-order batter Tim Ward who is believed to have been sidelined due to concussion protocols, with the dilemma for Tasmania selectors being who to leave out to accommodate the highly-rated left-hander's return.

"Tassie have got a few new guys in their environment, particularly their bowling attacks," Bancroft said.

"It's evolved a little bit more, they've lost Sidds and lost Birdie as well but they'll be pretty up and about after the way they played against South Australia.

"We don't expect anything less from Tassie, they play really hard cricket, they've got a really talented group of guys and it should be another good challenge."

Squads

Western Australia: Sam Whiteman (c ), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Jayden Goodwin, Sam Greer, Aaron Hardie, Liam Haskett, Lance Morris, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Charlie Stobo, Ashton Turner, Teague Wyllie.

Tasmania: Jordan Silk (c), Gabe Bell, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Mitchell Owen, Samuel Rainbird, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.

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Sheffield Shield 2023-24 Standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Western Australia Men WA	10	5	2	3	0	0	5.53	9.4	47.93
2 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	10	5	2	3	0	0	6.06	8.3	47.36
3 NSW Men NSW	10	4	3	3	0	0	6.31	9	42.31
4 Victoria Men VIC	10	4	4	2	0	0	4.74	8.2	38.94
5 South Australia Men SA	10	3	6	1	0	0	5.19	9.3	33.49
6 Queensland Bulls QLD	10	2	6	2	0	0	3.54	8.3	25.84

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points