Bring on the short stuff, says Bancroft

While England's tailenders have predictably struggled to counter the bouncer barrage from Australia's express pacemen, to see Cameron Bancroft get himself in a tangle facing short-pitched bowling in Melbourne was most unexpected.

Born and bred on the fast, bouncy wickets on the country's western coastline, Bancroft has been raised on a diet of short bowling supplied by an overflowing supply of nasty, hostile quicks.

So when veteran James Anderson, known for his prodigious swing more than searing speed, dug it in short on a benign Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch at the right-handed opener on Boxing Day, no-one was more surprised than the batsman on strike as to how difficult he found them to handle.

Bancroft was caught in no-man's land, unsure whether to attack, defend or get out of the way of Anderson's bouncers before he decided to duck anything that landed in the bowler's half of the pitch.

But the watered-down version of Australia's all-out bouncer assault that England used against Bancroft has not put any fear into the young top-order batsman.

When asked if he expects England to employ the same tactic in the fifth and final Magellan Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the 25-year-old had a blunt response.

"I hope so," he said. "I think I play a short ball really well.

"I know I got myself into a couple of awkward positions last game, which I was very surprised about.

"If that happens, it happens … if they do (bowl short), bring it on, enjoy it.

"I know that's a tactic a lot of teams use. That's part of the game, isn't it?"

While Bancroft made it clear he has no issue with facing the short ball, there is one area in his game that's left him stumped.

In seven innings as a Test opener, only once has he passed 50 – an unbeaten 82 at the Gabba – and he has squandered four starts in his past five visits to the crease.

He made 10 from 41 balls in the first innings of the pink ball Test at Adelaide Oval before he was run out in a mix up with David Warner and a direct hit from England quick Chris Woakes.

On his home turf in Perth he moved to 25 and looked trouble-free until paceman Craig Overton jagged back a delivery off a length to dismiss him with the aid of the Decision Review System.

And in Melbourne, after gutsing out the short stuff, he was again trapped – this time from Woakes for 26 – before chopping on the same bowler in the second innings for 27.

But despite not cashing in once he is set, Bancroft said he has been focusing on the positives in his game as he approaches his fifth Test in the Baggy Green.

"I'm not really sure – I think it's something I could probably over-analyse a little bit," he said when asked about his failure so far to convert starts.

"I'm doing the hard work, I'm getting myself in.

"It's been great to be able to get the team off to a great start.

"Davey (Warner) and I have done that the last couple of innings, which has been fantastic.

"But there's a lot of really positive things I'm doing right now and life's too short to sit here and worry about all the bad things that are going on.

"I'm certainly not going to do that."

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Ashton Agar.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Australia won by 120 runs (Day-Night). Scorecard

Third Test Australia won by an innings and 41 runs. Scorecard

Fourth Test MCG, drawn. Scorecard

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21