Bancroft may make the cut

ROB FORSAITH A STOIC Cameron Bancroft stood tall with a match-winning knock of 93 not out on a borderline “dangerous” pitch in Southampton, suggesting the Cape Town trio could make their Test returns together in Birmingham.

Steve Smith and David Warner, two of the world’s best batsmen, were always going to be rushed back into Australia’s XI at the earliest possible opportunity after serving yearlong bans.

Bancroft’s path back to Test cricket, having been a young player yet to prove himself at international level when he made a life-changing error at Newlands, was always going to be a bit bumpier.

Fellow openers Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Aaron Finch and Matthew Renshaw all loomed as imposing roadblocks; likewise Bancroft’s lack of runs during a nine-month suspension.

But the race to partner Warner in the first Ashes Test, beginning on Thursday, now appears to be down to good mates Harris and Bancroft.

Bancroft and incumbent Test opener Harris were both expected to be included in Australia’s Ashes squad announced last night.

Bancroft’s 194-ball innings in Australia’s intra-squad match, a low-scoring affair in which Warner was the only other batsman to pass 50, could potentially result in him getting the nod.

Captain Tim Paine was effusive in his praise for the watchful West Australian, who recently found form while captaining his county team, Durham, before further impressing selectors in Southampton.

“To get basically a hundred on that wicket was an unbelievable effort,” Paine said.

“What it showed is Bangers’ toughness. The reason the guys were getting stuck on the crease a lot is because the odd ball was jumping up at them … (The pitch was) bordering on dangerous. It wasn’t ideal.

“That can play on a guy’s mind … particularly when they are bowling the speeds our guys were.

“To keep going forward, to keep wearing balls on the body, he was superb.

“The boys think he has a bit of a screw loose, but he seems to enjoy getting hit on the body – it seems to make him bat better.”

Paine isn’t a selector but has passed his thoughts on to coach Justin Langer and panel chairman Trevor Hohns, with the captain admitting selection news was going to “sting” those left out of what was expected to be a 17-man touring party.

Paine, who became the nation’s 46th Test captain in the wake of the sandpaper scandal, insists a couple of high-profile Test returns will not derail the squad’s focus on the Ashes.

“That’s all in the past. I think everyone is rapt to have them back, that’s the emotion,” Paine said. “Everyone is excited … We are thrilled from a cricket aspect, we are thrilled from a team aspect.”