Cameron Bancroft played nine of his ten T20s this summer for Perth Scorchers © Getty Images
Cameron Bancroft will make his international debut in Sunday’s third and final Twenty20 against India in Sydney after being called in to replace Matthew Wade as wicketkeeper. Wade is one of five players in Australia’s T20 squad for the India series who will be unavailable for the final game as they fly to New Zealand on Saturday ahead of the ODI series that starts there next week.
ODI captain Steven Smith, vice-captain David Warner, Wade, and fast bowlers Kane Richardson and John Hastings will all depart for New Zealand on Saturday, along with several players not in the T20 squad, including Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Adam Zampa. Smith and Warner have been made unavailable for Friday night’s T20 in Melbourne, while Wade, Richardson and Hastings are available to play that game.
That left Australia with only 12 men in their squad for the third T20 in Sydney and no wicketkeeper amongst them, so Bancroft has been called in to take the gloves and make his international debut. Bancroft, 23, had been named in Australia’s Test squad to tour Bangladesh in October but that trip was cancelled due to security reasons, and Joe Burns was preferred to Bancroft as opener for the home summer.
Bancroft has played only 10 T20s in his career, nine of which came this summer for the Perth Scorchers in the BBL, in which he made 137 runs at 34.25 with a strike-rate of 128.03. Other wicketkeepers including Tim Ludeman and Tim Paine had more prolific BBL seasons than Bancroft, but the selectors appear keen to give Bancroft an early taste of international cricket given the high regard in which they hold him as a future prospect.
Squad for third T20 Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson, Chris Lynn, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Bancroft (wk), James Faulkner, Nathan Lyon, Cameron Boyce, Andrew Tye, Shaun Tait, Scott Boland.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo