BANCROFT FOILED AGAIN BY CRUELLEST FORTUNE

WHETHER you consider Cameron Bancroft to be the leading sandpapergate villain, or a callow youngster led astray by others, there’s no disputing his rotten luck.

Six from seven innings last season Bancroft was caught in an arc from the keeper to square leg. It happened again on Friday, and this was the most bizarre of the lot.

Defending a short-of-alength ball in the vicinity of off-stump, Bancroft somehow sent it flying to Jake Doran at backward square leg.

He played it with what appeared a dead bat — but the ball ricocheted at good speed 20m to the fieldsman. Bancroft’s wicket triggered an early collapse before a Shaun Marsh century rescued Western Australia on a cool, drizzly morning at Park 25 in Adelaide.

Even Cameron Green — talked up this week as the next Ricky Ponting, if not Gary Sobers — had no answer for the

Tasmanian new-ball attack. Marching to the middle in only the fifth over, with WA 2-9, Green (seven from 11 balls) was well caught at third slip by Ben McDermott from Jackson Bird’s bowling.

Bird claimed three scalps while Nathan Ellis bagged four and the Tigers’ new recruit Peter Siddle picked up two.

Australian coach Justin Langer said Green would do well to ignore the hype about being the next big thing.

“The hardest part of playing international cricket is eliminating the distractions. That’s what mental toughness is about,” he said.

If Green wanted a lesson in mental toughness he need look no further than Marsh, whose 115 rescued the side. Green, Agar, Inglis and Sam Whiteman have all scored hundreds in the first two Shield rounds so plaudits go to the ground staff as much as the Tigers’ bowlers for bringing balance back to the cricket. At stumps Tasmania was 0-6.