Cameron Bancroft notched a half-century and Marcus Harris fell one run short, but the pair could regret throwing away their starts as Matt Renshaw and Cameron Green reached stumps unbeaten for the Prime Minister’s XI.
Renshaw and Green played cautiously against a green but disciplined Pakistani bowling offense to push the home team to 2-149 on the edge after visiting captain Shan Masood continued his first stellar day to post an unbeaten 201 at Manuka Oval.
Pakistan declared at 9-391 after an impressive effort from South Australian quick Jordan Buckingham on a pitch offering little to the bowlers.
Buckingham, the backward player selected to sign up for the Prime Minister’s Pace XI attack in Canberra, made the most of his late call-up with the third goal from five wickets of his red-ball career, adding to the big locks of Imam ul-Haq and Babar Azam.
The 23-year-old finished 5-80 in 21 overs as the most productive of seven players, adding part-time spinners Matt Renshaw and Nathan McSweeney, while Green played none of the 117 overs.
Potentially caught up in a war for David Warner’s checkpoint later this summer, Bancroft and Harris scored 96 in a measured partnership on the first wicket before Harris came down to the court to face player Abrar Ahmed, but failed to clear half the field with competitive momentum.
Bancroft fell to a moot bit of bodyweight resolution an hour later when he hit the pads through the uncovered right-arm sprinter Khurram Shahzad.
Renshaw and Green scored at only two runs per over as they batted together for more than an hour in the final session, but neither looked particularly troubled as they set up a big third morning with the bat, with captain McSweeney and in-form Tasmanian Beau Webster still to come.
Buckingham’s performance came after gaining six wickets on their Australia A debut against New Zealand A in April, followed up with five against the same opponent in Brisbane in August.
He excelled for the Redbacks in the early part of the Sheffield Shield season, scoring 14 wickets with 25. 57 in his 3 games, posting a career-best 7-71 against Tasmania in October.
Buckingham also signed up with the Brisbane Heat at the Big Bash as a replacement player and will be signed up for the team at the end of the game in Canberra.
Originally published as Cameron Bancroft makes 50 after Jordan Buckingham stars with ball
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