Cameron Bancroft had quite the Monday morning. Waking up, the Australian batsman’s head was all over the back pages. Not for keeping that head during the previous evening’s half‑century, but because Jonny Bairstow had decided to give it a nudge with his own. As we later learned, this is the Englishman’s preferred style of greeting.
Bancroft then went out to the middle to finish the job he had started with David Warner, collecting the 170 they needed for victory, overtaking an 87-year record for the highest unbeaten opening partnership in a successful Test chase. An exceptional press conference followed, reducing the captain, Steve Smith, to hysterics while deftly quelling an international incident. All before lunch.
In the middle, Bancroft’s innings was punctuated with an impeccable on-drive as the shadows grew on Sunday, a contender for shot of the match. Another Australian opener from Perth, Simon Katich, explained that Bancroft’s trick for making the difficult look easy is stillness. “He hits a lot of balls to mid-on and midwicket because he is balanced,” the 56-Test veteran says. “It’s hard to hit through mid-on if you are not balanced.”
That stroke came shortly after he danced at Moeen Ali to deposit him over the midwicket rope – ease against spin something Katich also identifies in the right-hander. That should not be a surprise given Bancroft is a long‑term member of the Cricket Australia production line, fixated on improving subcontinental returns. He is purpose‑built to excel in all seasons.
Bancroft’s first outing in the baggy green won Warner’s support, encouraging the younger man to lead the side off after the win. Smith was also effusive in his praise, calling it a “magnificent” first-up contribution. “The way he came out in the second innings, he had really good plans, played a nice straight bat and put the bad balls away.”
Katich compares Bancroft’s fitness to those of Australia’s leadership axis. “He’s got a phenomenal work ethic. Davey is fit and Steve is fit, but he would blow them away. He’s a perfect team man. He’s a beauty.”
More important again is Bancroft’s patience. A 567-ball double ton for his state won him a place in the Australia A side in India in 2015. A century there pushed him to the front of the queue for a national call-up after that year’s Ashes misadventure. If not for that Bangladesh tour being cancelled, he would have been a Test player more than two years ago at age 22.
The near-miss caused Bancroft consternation, overlooked for Joe Burns when the new home summer rolled around. Instead of complaining, he set about another solid year together in the domestic four-day competition. “They consider him a leader there at Western Australia,” Katich says of his reputation. “They view him very highly for his character.”
A year after that, when the Hobart crisis saw the end of Burns, it looked Bancroft’s place to lose in the shake-up. But a terribly timed bad match allowed fellow young-gun Matthew Renshaw to leapfrog him into the XI.
At last this summer, Bancroft’s timing was perfect. After a run of glittering form, the spot was his. This was much to the joy of his most powerful backer, Justin Langer, who also happened to feature on a poster on Bancroft’s bedroom wall growing up. “The boys still wind him up about it,” Katich said. “The posters are probably still in his bedroom now. Alfie [Langer] is his man.”
Langer’s close friend Steve Waugh is also understood to be a strong supporter, while a member of CA’s senior hierarchy told the Guardian that Bancroft is a potential future captain. In turn, there was an emphasis to get him playing county cricket in England as soon as possible, now a veteran of two stints with Gloucestershire.
It rounded out a good week, too, for Australia’s selectors. They were given a lashing in the court of public opinion when the squad was named. Of the three inclusions, Bancroft was the least controversial (if not universally popular, necessitating the dumping of Renshaw) with Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine also recalled. All did better than serviceable jobs.
With Warner inked in for years to come, it is likely that Bancroft and Renshaw will now be duelling to partner him. Room for both will be hard to find. “It comes down to who grabs their opportunity and makes the most of it,” Katich believes. On first glance at the top level, Bancroft looks ready made to do just that.
