Bancroft's passion reignited in time away

Cameron Bancroft believes his enforced time away from top-flight cricket has reignited his passion for the game, with the yoga guru going some way to proving it with a Zen-like half-century for Western Australia in his first-class comeback.

Bancroft waited almost 12 months to make his return to the longest format but the opener was in no hurry in his first JLT Sheffield Shield game back on Saturday, hitting a patient 73no on the opening day of their clash with New South Wales at Bankstown Oval.

Having recently returned through the KFC BBL after his nine-month ban for his role in the ball-tampering scandal expired in December, Bancroft showed few signs of red-ball rust on Saturday as he defied the Blues bowlers for 235 balls to guide the Warriors to 5-183 at the close of play on day one. 

Speaking to ABC Grandstand ahead of the clash, Bancroft, who recently became a qualified yoga teacher, said he'd been exposed to some "unhealthy values" during his eight-game stint in the Test side but has since had his outlook on the game changed for the better.

"I think I love the game far more authentically now," Bancroft said in the interview.

"It's the enjoyment of being there with your mates, and just the little things, like the feeling of the ball hitting the middle of your bat, the banter with teammates, helping your mates at training.

"I love going down to (his WA Premier club) Willeton, I take my dog thrower down and throw to the guys.

"I think those little things about the game, at times you can get caught in some unhealthy values playing at the highest level.

"At the end of the day it's a game of cricket. It's nice that that's why I play the game, and I definitely know that for sure."

Bancroft has slotted seamlessly back into domestic cricket, scoring 298 runs at 33 in 11 BBL games for the Perth Scorchers and playing crucial knocks in an otherwise disappointing season for the competition's most successful club.

The batsman came in for criticism in some quarters for his Fox Cricket interview with Test legend Adam Gilchrist that went to air during the Boxing Day Test, with Ricky Ponting among those to express his surprise.

But Bancroft, who also penned a letter to himself that was published in The West Australian newspaper, defended the Gilchrist interview.

"I find it hard to understand a little bit, because I was going to need to speak at some point," he told the ABC when asked about it. "But I didn't want to just talk for the sake of talking.

"Because the game in general, and life in general, there are messages that are far greater than just yourself to portray. I felt like I had some really important learnings to share with people, which is why I wrote my letter and which is why I did the interview with Gilly.

"I felt like there were some really powerful lessons I learnt in my journey that I wanted others to connect and share with.

"If other people were triggered by that, that's their battle to face.

"But if I was able to touch people through parts of my journey and to help them work through their lives, that was my sole intention, and for that I was proud of myself."

Bancroft could put himself back in the frame for a Test recall with a strong finish to the Shield season.

But he insists he's solely focused on performing for the Warriors and then for county side Durham, for whom he'll play with during the upcoming northern summer.

"What's in my control is these four Shield games for Western Australia," he continued. "I've committed to playing county cricket with Durham in the winter as well.

"They're the things I can control and really look forward to and put my energy into.

"Playing the game of cricket was the thing I really doubted, why I was doing it through a lot of last year.

"To be back even playing grade cricket for my team is just awesome fun, so no matter what team I'm playing for it's really enjoyable and right now that's Western Australia, so I'm really excited."