Whiteman ‘gutted’ for Bancroft as replacement options named

Teague Wyllie, Jayden Goodwin and D’Arcy Short have emerged as the three possible options Western Australia will select from to replace opener Cameron Bancroft in the Marsh Sheffield Shield final.

Bancroft was hospitalised when he fell off his bike and suffered a concussion on Sunday, in an accident that saw him ruled out of Shield showpiece against Tasmania starting Thursday at the WACA Ground.

Speaking to reporters on the eve of the final, WA captain Sam Whiteman said he understood Bancroft, who was riding alone, “was pretty lucky that it wasn't much worse” and hoped his opening partner would be at the WACA in the coming days to watch on from the stands.

Whiteman said selectors would wait until after Wednesday’s training session to make the call on who would partner him at the top, but confirmed the three options they would choose from.

Two-time Shield winner Wyllie, who was brought into WA’s 14-player squad for the final alongside fellow youngster Cooper Connolly, appeared the early frontrunner given his experience as an opener (albeit not at Shield level).

The 19-year-old has only managed one score above 25 in 10 Shield innings this season, however struck important centuries in two of his last three innings at WA Premier Cricket level for Rockingham-Mandurah.

Whiteman confirmed they would also consider incumbent number three Goodwin and even Short for the opener’s role.

“Pretty gutted, to be honest,” Whiteman said of Bancroft missing the chance to claim a potential third straight Shield title.

“First, it was nice to hear that he was actually okay – I found out a few days later that he was out of hospital and going okay.

“So, obviously gutted for him. He's done some heavy lifting this year to get us into a final, and he's been phenomenal over the last five years.”

Whiteman said he was confident WA could succeed without Bancroft, who finished the regular season as the state’s highest run-scorer (778 runs at 48.62), and behind only Tasmania’s Beau Webster (914 at 65.28) across the competition.

“The strength of this team has been the group.

“I think we've used 22 players this year, and every one of those players that’s played has done their role for the team.

“So yeah, it's obviously disappointing to lose Bang (Bancroft), who's a Test-quality opener, but someone will step up and do the role.”

Tasmania captain Jordan Silk said his thoughts went out to Bancroft.

“It's devastating, isn't it? You work so hard, and he's been a prolific run-scorer in Shield cricket for the last three or four seasons and personally you want the best players playing on this sort of stage,” Silk said.

“So my thoughts go to him and how he's actually physically feeling at the moment. That's my main concern.”

Victory in Perth would see WA secure their first Shield three-peat since the 1980s, and become the first team in Australian cricketing history to win three consecutive Shield and One-Day Cup titles at the same time.

For Tasmania, a win would be their first Shield success since the 2012-13 summer.

The Tigers confirmed a 13-player squad for the final on Wednesday morning, which included the return of speedster Riley Meredith who was managed in their most recent four-day clash against South Australia.

“Any time you can bring in someone with Riley's skillset (and) his pace, and obviously the conditions of the WACA are going to suit him tremendously.

“So, excited that he's raring to go – he's always a nice person to bring back into your lineup at any time.”

Webster looms as arguably the most important player heading into the final, after compiling one of the best ever all-round Shield seasons.

The 30-year-old became just the fourth ever player to score over 900 runs and take over 25 wickets in a season, alongside Tom Moody (1993-94), Garry Sobers (1963-64) and Norm O’Neill (1957-58).

“It's actually hard to fathom the numbers that he's put out this year,” Silk said.

“I don't think we've seen them for, probably not in my career, I've never seen anyone punch out those sort of numbers in my career, so it's a credit to him …

“At times, no doubt he has put us on his back and brought us to this position so we're very thankful for him to the season he's had.

“But I couldn't be happier as a mate to see him have this sort of success at this level.”

The Marsh Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, as well as live streamed free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

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