Bancroft suffers concussion after bike accident, ruled out of Shield final

New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) Western Australia opener Cameron Bancroft suffered a concussion after falling from his bike and will miss the Marsh Sheffield Shield final against Tasmania, starting on Thursday at WACA ground in Perth.

Bancroft, a keen cyclist, suffered the injury while riding on Sunday. Bancroft's loss is a huge blow for Western Australia's bid for a hat-trick of Shield titles, according to the cricket.com.au website.

As the top-scoring batter in the competition for the past five seasons, tallying 3,061 runs at an average of 42.51, Bancroft concluded the 2023-24 regular season as the Shield's second-highest run-scorer. Accumulating 778 runs at an average of 48.62, he trailed behind Tasmania's Beau Webster.

The right-hander played a key role in helping put the two-time reigning champions into the decider with a gritty second-innings 58 against Victoria on a bowler-friendly Junction Oval surface where only two other batters reached 50 for the match.

Bancroft's opening union with skipper Sam Whiteman was a major factor in the state's surge to a third straight final. The duo stand out as the sole openers within the top 10 run-scorers for the season.

Additionally, Bancroft and Whiteman have recently surpassed Geoff Marsh and Mike Veletta's record of 3,470 runs in partnership for Western Australia, achieving a total of 3,567 runs together.

Alongside Bancroft, uncapped allrounder Keaton Critchell was also excluded from WA's final squad as the star allrounder Aaron Hardie has recovered from a minor calf strain and has been cleared to return to bowling.