Just weeks after they both pushed ultimately unsuccessful cases for the Test opening vacancy, Bancroft and Konstas are set for more internal competition at Thunder.
Nic Maddinson’s finger surgery has left the pair as the two clearest options to partner new captain Warner at the top to start the BBL, which the pair enter with different recent records.
Bancroft failed to get past 20 in 15 of 19 attacks in red-and-white-ball cricket this summer, but managed an unbeaten 105 in Western Australia’s penultimate Sheffield Shield game before the break. Warner said no firm decision had yet been made on the initial partnership.
“We will talk about this this week, we will see it in the warm-up match. I am probably making a mistake between me and probably Sammy Konstas at the top,” he said.
Warner has been impressed with Konstas but wants to speak to the 19-year-old before the Thunder’s opener against Adelaide Strikers next Tuesday.
“We know he’s talented, but it’s about getting out there on the Twenty20 pitch and trying to figure out how to play that format as well, and what he’s going to bring to the table,” Warner said. “I will talk to him about how he wants to play and what his style of cricket is as well.
“We’ll have these conversations in the coming days about how we want to play and make sure everyone is on the same page.”
After being signed as a base player for the first summer of the BBL, Warner has been in and out of the Thunder over the past two summers surrounding Australian duties.
Now retired from international matches, the 38-year-old will play the full tournament for the first time in a major boost for a competition that has long struggled for star power in the absence of Test players.
“I’m excited,” Warner said of the BBL. “It’s another challenge for me. I will maintain my own standards and make sure I contribute to the team and get us off to a good start and lead by example on the field with the captaincy.”
“There are questions we all have to answer over the last few years, about the way we’ve played,” he said. “We have some ships in the middle and hopefully at the top of the order we can shoot as well.”
