Stumps Western Australia 146 for 0 (Whiteman 67*, Bancroft 63*) trail Tasmania 439 (Silk 181, Webster 64, Wade 51, Rocchiccioli 3-144, Stobo 3-87) by 293 runs

Cameron Bancroft continued his early dominance of the Sheffield Shield season as Western Australia made a strong start in response to Tasmania’s formidable first-innings 439 on a lifeless WACA pitch.

In perfect batting conditions, Bancroft and captain Sam Whiteman were at ease as they batted through the latter part of day two. A result could be difficult to force on an unusually sedate WACA pitch, which has seemingly flattened considerably due to unseasonably warm spring weather.

Bancroft is looking to make the most out of the conditions on the back of a commanding century earlier this month against a strong Victoria attack at the WACA.

With David Warner set to retire from Test cricket over the summer, the race is on to find his replacement, and Bancroft has so far made a compelling case. A nervous starter at times, Bancroft had to endure a few tests early in his innings. Shuffling across the stumps, Bancroft struggled initially against seamer Lawrence Neil-Smith, who targeted his pads.

Once he got through the new ball, Bancroft looked immovable, and so too Whiteman. Tasmania’s bowlers rarely threatened in 53 overs, but they will feel relieved that conditions are set to be significantly cooler on day three.

After a couple of wickets late on day one, WA had been hopeful of restricting Tasmania to under 350 but skipper Jordan Silk defied the attack with a marathon 181 off 349 balls. He superbly led a gritty fightback after Tasmania had seemingly let slip winning an invaluable toss when they stuttered at 49 for 3.

Resuming at 281 for 6, all eyes were on Silk, who had finished day one on 99. He remained agonisingly stuck on that score for almost 30 minutes into the day’s play, pinned back to the crease by accurate bowling from quicks Liam Haskett and Aaron Hardie.

On his 22nd ball of the day, Silk scurried through for a single to finally bring up his century. After such a cautious start, Tasmania got a roll on with Jarrod Freeman and Silk hitting seven boundaries in succession.

But WA looked set to wrap up the innings when a fine catch running backwards from Lance Morris dismissed Freeman, who made the most of the sedate conditions with a breezy 30 off 14 balls.

WA’s bid to escape the heat was thwarted by a 77-run ninth-wicket partnership between Silk and Neil-Smith, who held up an end. Silk opened up after lunch with several gorgeous drives to inch towards a double-century.

Silk’s indefatigable innings ended when he was trapped lbw by seamer Charlie Stobo early in the second session, the last wicket to fall in the day’s play.

In searing conditions, with the temperature nudging 36-degrees Celsius, WA’s attack toiled manfully but with little of their trademark menace. With their quicks neutralised, WA relied on offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli, who finished with 3 for 144 off 39 overs.

Morris only bowled a three-over spell on day two as he works his way back from a stress-related back injury that ruled him out of the Ashes. Clocked at around 140kph, Morris unleashed several bouncers and enticed an edge from Silk that flew past wicketkeeper Josh Philippe.

He finished with 2 for 55 from 19 overs – solid figures on a pitch that has so far proved unrelenting for bowlers.