Australia A: Teammates rally behind Cam Bancroft as another crucial audition for Test recall looms

His bid for a Test recall has been left hanging by a thread, but teammates are still getting behind West Australian opener Cam Bancroft.

And WA bowler Jhye Richardson has weighed in on the dodgy dismissal that had Bancroft dismissed for a duck, saying he could tell he’d got a “stinker” by his teammate’s reaction.

Nathan McSweeney was the leading scorer of the four contenders to open the batting in Australia’s Test team against India in Perth later this month, but failed to turn his hard work into a convincing score.

The South Australian captain was dismissed for 39 off 131 balls by Nitish Kumar Reddy on Friday morning, day two of the warm-up match with India A in Mackay.

Victorian Marcus Harris made 17, but was also dropped on eight, opening the batting alongside teen sensations Sam Konstas, who made a nervous duck.

Bancroft also failed to score, but was left fuming by his dismissal on Thursday, which appeared to cannon off his thigh pad and through to wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan.

He did snaffle a sharp low catch at third slip off Fergus O’Neill.

Richardson became the latest State teammate to throw their support behind Bancroft on Friday and said if the 31-year-old missed out on the Test team again, it would spur him on for the summer.

“Going off last year he obviously had a really good year last year, he has struggled a little bit early this year, but that’s cricket,” he said.

“We know we can go through patches of struggle and that’s OK, knowing Bangers as well as I do, he’ll come out of that.

“It would be great to see him get an opportunity, but if he doesn’t, that will drive him even more.

“Judging by his reaction he got a bit of a stinker, but it’s hard to tell on those sorts of videos.”

On a wicket that had been tipped to get better for batting after 14 wickets fell on the opening day, India A are threatening to build a significant lead.

They finished day two on 2-208 and are 120 runs ahead. Sai Sudharsan will begin Saturday’s play on 96 and Devdutt Padikkal is unbeaten on 80.

South Australian bowler Jordan Buckingham dismissed Abhimanyu Easwaran for 12 with a rapid-quick run-out from mid-on and O’Neill had Ruturaj Gaikwad out for five.

“We had a nice lead to have a crack at them, but I feel like the game is still evenly poised, there are two days of cricket to go, so a couple of breakthroughs tomorrow morning and the game could open right up,” young West Aussie Cooper Connolly said.

Connolly made 37 off 60 balls after continuing on day two in partnership with McSweeney. He got an inside-edge from a Mukesh Kumar ball that sprayed out to square-leg.

“I felt like my natural game is to try and look to score and that’s how I kept it,” Connolly said.

“It would have been nice to stick out there for a little bit longer with Nath.”

This innings was the first time in four first-class matches the 21-year-old has been dismissed for less than 50 in a first innings.