Rising star Cameron Bancroft believes his ability to overcome a horror form slump 18 months ago has helped steel him for what he hopes will be a long Test career.
Bancroft is a giant step closer towards making a dream Test debut after being named in Australia's 15-man squad for next month's tour of Bangladesh.
The 22-year-old enjoyed a strong finish to last summer's Sheffield Shield campaign, scoring 211 against NSW to secure WA's spot in the final, before posting scores of 55 and 38 in the drawn decider.
But he was at his lowest ebb 12 months earlier when he was in danger of being dropped for the Shield final after coming off a sequence of nine innings that included three ducks and a top score of just 17.
Bancroft's run drought concluded with a scratchy duck in the final, but he has since established himself as one of the brightest young stars in Australian cricket.
The talented right-hander, who scored 150 for Australia A against India A in July, said his form rut 18 months ago helped make him a stronger cricketer and person.
"I'm actually glad and kind of blessed that I was able to go through something like that," Bancroft said on Monday.
"I probably felt that I was depressed at that stage. It's certainly not nice to go through things like that.
"But that's cricket. That's the ups and downs and things you deal with in elite sport."
The retirements of Shane Watson, Ryan Harris, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, and Chris Rogers has left the door open for a raft of up-and-coming stars to nail a regular Test berth.
A thumb injury to opener David Warner, plus the resting of Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood, means Australia will field one of their most inexperienced squads ever in the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Bancroft knows if he gets an opportunity to play, he needs to make it count or risk being discarded into the Test wilderness.
"If you go out there and think you're safe then you are going to be spat out and it's going to be really hard to get back," Bancroft said.
"To be honest, I never really thought of age being a determining factor of being ready or not.
"I watched Ashton Agar make his test debut at 19 a few years ago in an Ashes series and I felt he held himself really well in that.
"I certainly feel I am in a good place to be able to take that opportunity if it comes."
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