Opener axed for second Test as Renshaw gets recall
Joel Gould |
Matt Renshaw has been recalled to the Australian squad for the second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay after the axe fell on out-of-form opener Jake Weatherald.
The 30-year-old Renshaw last played Test cricket in India in 2023 when he batted in the middle order, but has made most of his 645 runs in 14 Tests as an opener.
The tall left-hander is the hot favourite to open with Travis Head in the second Test at Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena which starts on Saturday.
Weatherald paid the price for a string of low scores and an unimpressive 23 and 0 in the shock nine-wicket loss to Bangladesh in Darwin.
In a pre-Test interview in Darwin, Weatherald acknowledged if he failed to fire he would put “fate in someone else’s hands”.
Under-pressure No.3 Marnus Labuschagne made 1 and 31 in Darwin but coach Andrew McDonald said after the loss the changes to his technique had held up well.
McDonald, however, still warned Labuschagne “needs big runs”.
He was not so complimentary of Weatherald.
“There was some change to Jake in terms of where he lined up and his movement patterns,” the coach said.
“It’s always hard to critique small sample sizes on whether it holds up. He dragged one on and drove at one in the first innings and was dismissed.
“It is probably harder with that smaller sample size to say, ‘yep, that’s going to hold up under pressure’.”
Small sample sizes had been too regular in Weatherald’s short Test career where he averaged just over 20 in six Tests.
Renshaw has recently played white-ball cricket for Australia and was one of the better performers in Sheffield Shield cricket last summer with 499 runs at 49.9, including three centuries.
Renshaw has reinvented himself from the stodgy batter in his early days to a dominant and imposing figure.
He has fond memories of Mackay.
On December 6, 2015, Renshaw made 170 against NSW when he batted for 395 balls to score his maiden first-class century.
He has also scored a Shield ton against Victoria there in 2023, making 135 of 262 balls.
On the same visit he backed it up with 102 off 68 deliveries in a One-Day Cup clash, also against Victoria.
Renshaw came in for Queensland Bulls training at Allan Border Field early on Tuesday morning before getting ready to fly to Mackay.
He has just one Test century to his credit – a knock of 184 against Pakistan in Sydney in 2017.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
AAP