The Durham director of cricket, Marcus North, has spoken out for the first time about the controversial decision to appoint Cameron Bancroft as the county’s captain.

The Australian Test player recently returned from a nine-month ban for altering the surface of the ball with a sheet of sandpaper concealed in his underwear during a Test in South Africa. The decision to award him the Durham captaincy, his first real leadership role, has drawn sharp criticism from some outside the county.

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North, who has long been an adopted north-easterner himself, defended that decision, while speaking out strongly in favour of a player he knows well from Western Australia.

“I understand there will be opinions about Cameron being in a leadership role,” he said. “We’re not condoning the issue he had in South Africa with the Australian Cricket team in any way. But this is a guy that I’ve known before and after that. I’ve seen him grow up. And I am in constant contact with people I trust a lot in Australian cricket. There was a huge amount of thought and information went into that decision.”

Bancroft is said to have gone through a period of deep reflection following his ban, exploring various other aspects of life outside cricket, including becoming a qualified yoga instructor.

“This is a guy that, like Steve Smith and David Warner, through that terrible decision that they made, have suffered,” added North. “Though experience people learn and grow. Through the experience Cameron has had at a young age and coming out of that experience now, well, is there a better person to speak to our young players about how to play the game?”

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North revealed that at least one other player, Alex Lees, had been offered the captaincy beforehand but had turned it down, preferring instead to concentrate on establishing his first-class career.

“Though various things that happened at the club, Durham lost their succession plan in recent years. Someone like Cameron will lead by example, will play in every game, you know the qualities he’s going to add. I want to see the best of Cameron Bancroft.”

North also backed Bancroft as a candidate to return to the Australian Test team this summer. “He’s done everything asked of him from a performance point of view [in Australian domestic cricket]. If he comes to Durham and scores heavily, there’s no reason Cameron can’t continue that run and get back in the Australia squad.”