Selfish Bancroft a must in Perth: Rogers

Chris Rogers has a simple piece of advice for Australia opener Cameron Bancroft, who he mentored earlier his year in England: be selfish.

Australia Test cricketer Cameron Bancroft

Australia's Cameron Bancroft has an average of 42 in his two Test matches against England. (AAP)

One month after sealing his Test call-up in front of a handful of Sheffield Shield supporters in Perth, Cameron Bancroft will have a sold-out WACA crowd on their feet when he walks out to bat.

Bancroft has seamlessly strolled into the powder-keg atmosphere of an Ashes series, weathering a headbutt from Jonny Bairstow along the way, but a home Test always feels different.

Especially the first one.

The WACA has been Bancroft's oval of dreams since he was a boy with Justin Langer's poster on his bedroom wall.

The 25-year-old has represented state and city at the ground.

The stakes will be immeasurably higher when he runs out on Thursday with Australia attempting to regain the urn during the WACA's final Ashes Test.

Bancroft can expect a hectic week of ticket requests, long-lost acquaintances trying to get hold of him and hundreds of family members, mates and former teammates wanting to share a special moment.

Former Test opener Chris Rogers, who debuted at home in Perth in 2008 but had to wait a further five and a half years for another chance to don the baggy green, has a simple piece of advice for somebody he mentored earlier this year.

"He just needs to almost be a little bit selfish," Rogers told AAP.

"It's a really hard one. I found it can actually be a little bit of a distraction because there's so many people wanting to watch but also hang out.

"You can end up getting caught trying to look after everybody else when you need to kind of take care of yourself.

"But in saying that, there's familiarity and probably a comfort level that comes with playing on your home track, where he's had success this year."

Bancroft demanded national selection in his most recent match at the WACA, scoring 228 not out in a Shield match.

The 25-year-old spent the winter playing county cricket in England, where he regularly picked the brain of Rogers.

"The run-out in the second Test was really unfortunate. That hurts because he looked really good," Rogers said.

"Then he got the new ball under lights. As he said, they were swinging like bananas.

"But that's international cricket ... if he gets in and scores big runs on what could possibly be a pretty flat (WACA) wicket then he can book himself a spot in that side for a while to come."

Langer is also excited about the early stages of his protege's Test career.

"The hardest thing in cricket is hitting the winning runs and he had the steel to do that (on debut)," Langer said.

"The second Test is the hardest for a young player ... he'll be better for the experience."


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Source: AAP



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