Bancroft set to join county side Durham

Suspended Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft has signed on to play county cricket for Durham, but not until next winter after his ban has elapsed.

Bancroft was one of three Australians banned for their roles in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal in March. The Western Australian was given a nine-month ban from international, state and Big Bash cricket by Cricket Australia that is due to expire in late December.

David Warner and Steve Smith, the other players banned from Cape Town, with each of them serving 12-month suspensions, have secured overseas contracts in Canada and the Caribbean Premier League.

Bancroft's competitive cricket has been limited to the Northern Territory Strike League, and he will play for his WA Premier League club side Willetton before an expected return to the top level with the Perth Scorchers.

Bancroft had been due to join Somerset this winter, but that contract was torn up in the wake of the Cape Town scandal.

Bancroft will join Durham, in the country's north as the club's overseas player and will be available for all three formats. He has signed on for the entire County season.

Australia will next winter seek their first Ashes win on British soil for the first time since Steve Waugh's 2001 tourists, in a season that also includes the 50-over World Cup.

Bancroft will be banned for the two-Test series against Pakistan in October, as well as the first three Tests against India, and would seem unlikely to be rushed back into the side for the New Year's Test in Sydney.

Signing on for a full county season in an Ashes year could be an astute move, as Bancroft acknowledged.

"I am excited to join Durham for the 2019 county season. Having played at Emirates Riverside in 2017 I know what a great place it is to play cricket. With the Ashes and ODI World Cup both being played in the UK in 2019 it will be a huge summer of cricket," the opener said in a statement.

"I am grateful for the opportunity and I can't wait to get over and make an impact with Durham."

The Western Australian will replace New Zealander Tom Latham as the county's overseas signing.

Durham head coach Jon Lewis said: "Cameron provides us with a very talented overseas signing who can bulk up our batting line up and help us compete for silverware.

"Tom Latham has done a great job for us over the past two seasons but we anticipate Tom being unavailable due to the World Cup in 2019, therefore we were delighted to be able to bring Cameron in.

"Cameron is a talented top-order batsman and a great talent across all formats, he has the appetite and temperament for scoring big runs."