Ball-tamperer Bancroft smacks unbeaten 138

SYDNEY: Cameron Bancroft made an emphatic statement to Australian selectors Sunday by carrying his bat in an unbeaten 138 on his red ball return after a ball-tampering ban, while downplaying any rift with David Warner. The 26-year-old opener completed his nine-month suspension for cheating in late December and has since played Twenty20 cricket for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. But his outing for Western Australia against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield in Sydney was his maiden first-class match since the infamous ‘sandpapergate’ in Cape Town almost a year ago that rocked the game. Bancroft was a measure of concentration and discipline as he played the anchor role to be 73 not out overnight and completed his patient ton on Sunday, smashing eight fours and three sixes in his 358-ball innings as his team collapsed around him. It helped steer Western Australia to 279 all out. With the Ashes series against England looming this year, it was a timely knock with Australia struggling over the summer to find a consistent Test opener.