Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting anointed Cameron Bancroft as David Warner’s Test replacement later this summer, but it was teammate Cameron Green who stole the show on Thursday with an impressive knock for Western Australia.
Green fell just short of a century on 96 as he returned to red ball cricket for the first time since the fourth Ashes Test in July.
The all-rounder looked energetic and confident as he hit 16 boundaries in a commanding innings which steered his side out of danger after slumping to 3-29 in reply to Queensland’s 8-274 declared at the Gabba.
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It came despite an exhausting touring schedule with Australia this year, with Green only arriving home from the World Cup campaign last week after battling on the fringes of the side.
Coach Andrew McDonald has expressed an interest in reshuffling the batting order to bring Green into the Test side when Warner bows out after the Pakistan series, but Ponting told SEN on Thursday that Bancroft should be the replacement at the top of the order due to his weight of runs over the last two seasons.
“If you look at those three guys, I think it’s quite clear that Bancroft is the one that’s got the runs on the board and I wouldn’t be surprised if (the selectors) go that way,” Ponting said.
“If you wind the clock back about six months it might have been a slightly different order than what it is now.
“I think they probably had Harris as the one that would come back in a while ago. To me now it sort of feels (there’s) a bit more of a groundswell behind Cameron Bancroft getting first crack.”
Ponting said Green might have to “bide his time” to return to the national side after Mitch Marsh took charge of the No. 6 position midway through the Ashes.
“(Green) can get a truckload of runs in Shield cricket and sort of force his way back into the side,” he said.
Bancroft fell for just seven on the third day of the Shield clash but Green answered the call in a superb 170-run partnership with Hilton Cartwright.
Will Pucovski was the shining light for Victoria with a gritty 65 as the visitors crawled further ahead to put themselves in the box seat at the Adelaide Oval.
Pucovski, who was floored by a blow to the ribs on the stroke of lunch but forged on with his innings, passed 50 for the first time this season as he batted carefully with Peter Handscomb (44) and Campbell Kellaway (46) to set South Australia 258 to win.
The 25-year-old’s innings came to an end when Wes Agar (3-51) dismissed him lbw, while Nathan McAndrew was again among the Redbacks’ best with 4-50.
SCG slips screamer from Sangha! | 00:31
Meanwhile at the SCG New South Wales staged a stunning fightback to claim an unforgettable victory over Tasmania, rolling the visitors for just 68 as they looked to chase just 143 for victory on a an extraordinary third day where 24 wickets fell.
The Blues looked gone after collapsing in their own second innings, losing 7-19 at the SCG to be all out for 118, setting the Tigers what seemed a gettable total.
But veteran paceman Chris Tremain claimed his second five-wicket haul for the season as he blasted out the Tasmanian middle order and tail.
The Tigers were 3-57 in pursuit of the small total, but lost 7-11 as Tremain finished with figures of 6-31 as the hero in his team’s unbelievable 74-run win, just the second of the season.
It was Tasmania’s second lowest ever first-class score, narrowly eclipsing a fourth innings of 63 against Western Australia at the WACA in 2017.
“It was a fun game, but if you ask the batsmen it probably wasn’t,” Tremain, who took nine wickets for the match, said.
“Games in fast forward are good to watch. The divots and cracks in the wickets probably meant one ball had your name on it.
“When you got your tail up, it stayed up. I don’t really care who gets the wickets, as long as we get them and get off the field.
“Lucky to get what I got I think.”
Tremain is among a few of his teammates who won’t be back in action until next year as the Shield goes on a break for the Big Bash.
His bowling brilliance, with fellow veteran Jackson Bird taking the other four wickets, came after NSW product Lawrence Neil-Smith claimed a 10-wicket haul for the match, picking up three wickets while Gabe Bell took a maiden five-for as Tasmania reduced the Blues from 3-99 to 118 all out.
First innings topscorer Ollie Davies came out to bat despite fracturing his finger in the field on day two, but only lasted five balls as he nicked a Neil-Smith delivery through to the keeper.
Doran and Tim Ward briefly restored order after Tasmania slumped to 3-12 in its pursuit of 143, but Jackson Bird joined Tremain in tearing through the Tigers’ line-up, claiming the final wicket of Neil-Smith to skittle the Tigers for 68.
Silk said it was “pretty challenging conditions” to bat in with the loss not enough to push Tasmania off the top of the Shield table.
“They were too good for us,” he said.
“We tried to score, and tried to keep their good ones out. Unfortunately there were too many good ones.”
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