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Australia’s Cameron Bancroft, who inked a contract to
play for the team in all formats come 2024, will be returning to
Gloucestershire this year.
Bancroft has been very successful for Western
Australia in the last two Sheffield Shield seasons, but he was recently passed
over by Australia’s selectors for the opening berth in Test cricket, which
David Warner had left open. Earlier this week, he was recognised as the
Australian Cricket Awards’ men’s domestic player of the year.
He previously played for Gloucestershire in 2016 and
2017, and also played county cricket for Durham (2021) and Somerset (2023).
“I’m absolutely delighted to sign with Gloucestershire and to have the
chance to return to the club where I started my county career,” Bancroft
said.
He will link up with the club in April and be
available for the majority of the summer. “I love playing county cricket
and the opportunity to play all formats with the club is something I’m really
excited about,” he said. “With a new coach and a really talented
playing group, I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”
After losing key players Benny Howell (Hampshire) and
Ryan Higgins (Middlesex) during the previous season, Gloucestershire are
currently going through a transitional phase. They finished last in Division
Two, were winless in the County Championship, were eliminated from the T20
Blast knockout rounds, and lost to the Metro Bank Cup semifinals the previous
year.
On Thursday, they unveiled Mark Alleyne as their new
coach after Dale Benkenstein left for Lancashire. “I’m really excited to
have someone of Cameron’s ability and experience on board for the season to
come,” Alleyne said. “We already have an exciting group of players
here so to add to that with a player of international calibre in Cameron, it’s
fantastic for me as a coach to have such depth in the squad.”