Bancroft proves resilience as Ashes loom

Cameron Bancroft is firmly in the mix for Ashes selection if his Sheffield Shield return for Western Australia is any gauge.

CRICKET SHEFFIELD SHIELD NSW WA

WA's Cameron Bancroft scored 138 not out and 86 in the Sheffield Shield loss to NSW in Sydney. (AAP)

New South Wales claimed an innings win to keep a stranglehold on second place in the Sheffield Shield standings, but the match was marked by Cameron Bancroft's highly successful return to first class cricket 11 months after the ignominy of the Cape Town Test.

Bancroft staked a strong claim for Ashes squad selection with two gritty innings against the same Dukes ball Australia will face in England.

NSW ended up claiming victory in the final session on day four winning by an innings and 51 runs, and but for Bancroft, WA's end would have come much earlier.

The 26-year-old's return following a nine-month ban for ball tampering, could barely have gone better on a personal level.

Bancroft contributed well over half of his team's second-innings' 147, scoring 86 in a five-hour 263-ball knock.

That came on the back of a seven-hour 138 not out in the first innings, in which he carried his bat for the third time in his career.

In total Bancroft soaked up an incredible 621 deliveries, just short of Steve Waugh's all-time Shield record of 649 deliveries set in 1996.

Requiring 198 to make NSW bat again, WA put the shutters up from the start of the final day and Bancroft was the perfect man for the job

Spinner Steve O'Keefe eventually dismissed Bancroft for the only time in the match, drawing the opener down the track for Peter Nevill to complete a smart stumping.

"I think he is pure class as a batter," O'Keefe said of Bancroft.

"Mentally it is tough to even come back, but to apply yourself mentally like he did is outstanding.

"He is a really outstanding prospect for Australian cricket.

"He showed mentally how strong he is and that is the kind of guy the Australian team probably should be picking."

The left-arm O'Keefe collected 5-52 off 33.2 overs, to add to his first innings 4-78.

"I felt I didn't do that well in the first innings to be honest with the Dukes ball and coming back after T20 I found it quite hard, but I felt quite good in the second innings.

"They fought really, really hard, especially Bangers (Bancroft) at the top, and they put a high price on their wicket, so we had to be at our best.

"We can now hopefully build some momentum at the back end of the season."

The win keeps NSW in touching distance of leaders Victoria, and pushes WA at least two wins away from a spot in the final with three rounds remaining.


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Source: AAP



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