Gloucestershire name Cameron Bancroft as skipper for the upcoming County season after injury horror in the BBL.
Gloucestershire have appointed Cameron Bancroft as skipper with the Australian expecting to make a full recovery before the start of the season.
While playing for the Sydney Thunder in the BBL in January, Bancroft was involved in a horrifying incident with Daniel Sams. He has disclosed that he has experienced some “trauma” as a result of the injury. He hasn’t played since hurting his shoulder and nose, but he plans to return to Sheffield Shield competition in March before moving to England.
After Graeme van Buuren resigned at the end of the previous season, Gloucestershire confirmed on Wednesday that he will lead their Championship team this year. Bancroft said he is “getting close” to full health and recuperating “pretty well” on the club’s platforms.
“The shoulder’s tracking alright. Obviously [there was] a little bit of trauma there to deal with and manage,” Bancroft said. “I’m definitely learning some things that I’ve seen a lot of other players experience. It takes time for the body to heal… I’m getting really close and looking forward to playing some cricket at the start of March.”
In 2024, Bancroft made an impression for Gloucestershire in all formats, leading the team in runs scored and scoring three Championship hundreds as they won the T20 Blast. Head coach Mark Alleyne stated that his attitude from the previous season made him the perfect option to be captain, and he is scheduled to return for the entire 2025 season.
“Cameron had an impressive year with us in 2024 and led by example in everything he did,” Alleyne said. “I love his dedication to preparation and his subsequent transference of that in the middle. His experience of playing Test match cricket and winning four-day titles gives him a broad base of experience which our players can feed off.”
Gloucestershire finished second-bottom of Division Two last year, but Bancroft believes they can push for promotion. “We had great lessons last year,” he said. “We’ll draw on those lessons, keep working on our strengths and the things we’re really good at. If we can do that, we’re going to be a team that’s going to be really hard to beat and be really competitive.”