Understanding himself has helped Bancroft have fun again

The 25-year-old didn’t have too good a time with the bat, scoring just four runs in 13 balls, but took three catches in the field as Willetton beat Midland-Guildford.

Steve Smith and David Warner, being popular picks in Twenty20 leagues around the world, have been busy since being slapped with year-long bans, but Bancroft has been less visible, playing only in one T20 tournament before returning to Willetton.

In between, Bancroft took time off to do a yoga teaching course. “Learning to detach myself from this guy that was a professional cricketer ... it's who I thought I was as a person,” Bancroft said of the experience.

“The more I have been able to let that go and understand who I am certainly breaks the anxiety that you put yourself under as a professional sportsman. Dealing with those challenges has been difficult, but part of the journey.”

For now, Bancroft, eight Tests old and widely thought of as one for the future in Australian cricket, is happy spending time with his Willetton mates, sharing his experience and mentoring the youngsters.

All that, even as the senior Australian men’s team prepare to do battle against Pakistan in a two-Test series in the United Arab Emirates, a tour he might have been in, along with Smith and Warner, had it not been for the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town earlier this year.

“There have been times I haven't played cricket and sat there and wondered how I got here. I can't be there right now but it's a great opportunity for those players,” said Bancroft, who is serving a nine-month ban.

Bancroft's ban ends on 29 December, during the course of Australia’s home series against India.