Welcome for ball-tampering batsman

MELBOURNE: Western Australia will be quick to welcome former Test batsman Cameron Bancroft back to the fold once his ball-tampering ban expires in December, the state team’s coach Adam Voges has said.

Opener Bancroft was banned for nine months for his part in the Cape Town balltampering scandal, which also led to 12month suspensions for former Australia captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.

While Bancroft’s ban expires on Dec 29, Voges said he expected the 25-year-old to be ready to slot into the Perth Scorchers’ lineup on the following day for their clash against Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 competition.

“One thing I do know about Cam is he’ll be prepared,” Voges said in comments published on Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au).

“I know he won’t have played any highlevel competitive cricket for a period, but it certainly hasn’t stopped him from trying to improve.

“He’ll be ready to go. I see a real possibility that he’ll come straight back in for that game.”

Governing body Cricket Australia is considering a submission from the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the players’ union, to lift the ball-tampering trio’s bans immediately.

The ACA made the request following the release of the Longstaff review into Cricket Australia’s culture which blamed the board in part for the ball-tampering crisis in South Africa.