Cameron Bancroft signs for Somerset as he joins Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagin in the County Championship… with Aussie Batter in line for an Ashes recall after a stellar domestic season
Cameron Bancroft will play for Somerset at the start of the County Championship season as the leading Australians continue to book them for pre-Ashes practice.
Bancroft, 30, is not currently in the Australian Test squad but is awaiting call-up after Western Australia’s stellar Sheffield Shield season, in which he hit four hundreds, twice any opponent, out of 945 runs – a figure that put him 289 ahead of the field.
Bancroft previously signed for Somerset in 2018, but did not join the field as the deal was canceled due to the nine-month ban he served for his role in the ball-tampering scandal in Australia, and he joined Durham once it expired.
First-class player Usman Khawaja is also keen on warming up for six Tests in eight weeks here this summer – preceding the World Series final against India in early June’s Ashes – but turned down the chance of next match time with Yorkshire. a month because it won’t be available until May.
Todd Murphy, who took 14 wickets in his series debut in India recently, has been in discussions with Durham, although the chances of a move appear to have diminished.
Cameron Bancroft has agreed to join Somerset for the upcoming cricket season
The Australian has hit 945 runs in the Sheffield Shield this season, over four centuries
While Cricket Australia are glad their batsmen have been put in jeopardy, they have taken a more cautious approach to putting miles into their legs bowling attack.
Three of Australia’s top six during that 2-1 defeat in the subcontinent in Steve Smith (Sussex), Marnus Labuschagene (Glamorgan) and Peter Handscombe (Leicestershire) had already committed periods of acclimatization to English conditions before attempting to win on their debut. Away from the ashes in 22 years.
And a host of surrounding players have made sure they are on hand and ready for the game: Marcus Harris with Gloucestershire, Michael Nessier back at Glamorgan, Sean Abbott and Will Sutherland at Surrey and Essex respectively while Sam Whiteman feature for Northamptonshire.
The Australians have played here domestically for five decades, but this year’s outpouring has fueled debate about the appropriateness of first-class counties giving England’s opponents a pre-series advantage.