Gilly backs patient Bancroft for Test spot

Australian legend Adam Gilchrist has added his voice to the growing fan club of Warriors opener Cameron Bancroft, who he says has the potential to fill the shoes of retiring batsman Chris Rogers at the top of the Test order.

With Rogers and Michael Clarke having exited from the side, and Western Australia trio Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh yet to secure a place, the opportunity to land a spot in Australia’s top six appears as open as ever.

Watch Bancroft's blitz v India A

Bancroft’s name has been bandied around regularly in 2015, after the 22-year-old had a breakout 2014-15 Sheffield Shield season, piling on 896 runs to be the competition’s third-highest scorer behind veteran pair Voges and Michael Klinger.

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Among those runs were three hundreds and three fifties, including a best of 211, as the opening batsman built a reputation for being an old-fashioned grinder in the mould of his coach, Justin Langer.

And it’s his ability to make big hundreds – which he again demonstrated in India recently with a superb 150 for Australia A against India A – that has Gilchrist singing his praises.

“He’s been selected in the Australia A team, which is usually an acknowledgement that you are in contention,” Gilchrist told The West Australian.

“Not only that, but he went away and scored some big runs.

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“That’s what has been lacking at the top of the order consistently. Particularly now that the most consistent has just left in Rogers.

“Not just getting 100s, but going on and getting some bigger totals and that’s just batting time.

“That’s probably something we’ve lost the habit of. He’s shown he is prepared to knuckle down and do that.”

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With the increasing influence of the limited-overs formats creeping into batting techniques in the Test arena, as England so ruthlessly exposed during the Ashes in bowling Australia out for 60 in swing-friendly conditions in Nottingham, Bancroft is a throwback of sorts; a man who has established himself with a first-class strike-rate under 40 as a rock at the top of the order.

Langer has already called for his inclusion in the Australia squad, suggesting it will benefit the right-hander’s development.

“Players who ended up being great players started at a pretty young age,” Langer told Fox Sports. “Ultimately they probably get dropped once or twice along the way but … get him in there and get him a taste and I’m sure he’ll be better for the experience.”