Bancroft shines again on his happy hunting ground

Cameron Bancroft's first Sheffield Shield century of the season lifted Western Australia to a strong position after day one against New South Wales at Bankstown Oval.

The former Test opener showed trademark concentration before being dismissed in the final overs of the day as the visitors reached 3 for 231 at stumps. He fell victim to the new ball and was trapped lbw by Chris Tremain for 117, having hit nine boundaries in his 262-ball knock.

Bancroft, who batted for 12 hours across two innings against the Blues at the same venue three years ago, looked more than capable of reprising that feat from the outset on Tuesday. He managed just 28 in the first session after Western Australia had won an important toss and elected to make first use of the wicket.

"New South Wales bowled really well so I had to work hard for runs," said Bancroft. "It is a wicket that is obviously quite slow with not a lot of sideways movement but there was enough variation to make it difficult.

"The outfield is really slow as well which doesn't help and I think spin will play more of a role as the game goes on."

Shaun Marsh proved to be an able lieutenant for Bancroft and batted with similar caution as the pair added 141 for the second wicket. The partnership ended when allrounder Jack Edwards induced a thin edge from Marsh for his second scalp.

Edwards earlier sent Sam Whiteman back to the pavilion when the opener edged a sharp catch to Trent Copeland at first slip.

Hilton Cartwright was 29 not out when stumps were drawn while new batter Josh Philippe is on 5.

Daniel Hughes and Moises Henriques were notable returnees to the New South Wales side after missing the recent match due to a Covid infection and Australian team duties respectively.

Both sides, along with Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, boast two wins apiece heading into the penultimate round.