Renshaw’s call to arms
HOT NETS SESSION A WARM-UP FOR TEST
MATT Renshaw’s hopes of retaining his berth at the top of Australia’s batting order for the Ashes was given a big lift yesterday when he was summoned to train with the country’s top fast bowlers.
The towering left-hander has been under the pump after a slow start to the Sheffield Shield season and the emergence of West Australian opener Cameron Bancroft.
While Queensland’s lower order was trying to save the game against NSW at Allan Border Field, Renshaw was in the adjacent nets facing a 45minute blitz from Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird.
The invitation for Renshaw to train with the Test set-up while his state team was playing bodes well for his selection prospects ahead of next week’s Ashes opener at the Gabba.
More importantly, Renshaw has some influential figures in his corner.
Nathan Lyon, the Test team’s song-master who set off a fire alarm when he burned toast yesterday, was unequivocal in declaring the 21-year-old had the support of the team’s inner sanctum.
“Last Test Matt Renshaw played in Australia he got 184 (against Pakistan in January),” Lyon said. “I’m not a selector but I like Matt. I am a big fan of Matt Renshaw.
“He is a class batter. He got unlucky in two dismissals (16 and one) here but I’m a big fan of Matty.
“Playing cricket for Australia, you’re going to come under scrutiny from the media and public. That’s the pressures of international cricket.
“If you’re in the inner sanc- tum and got the support, which he does, then usually you can get out of that headspace and perform well. It’s perfect practice to go out there and face the best bowlers in the world.”
Renshaw’s place in the Test team was questioned after a slow start to the red ball season with scores of 17, 16, 1, 19, 16 and 1 — a total of 70 at 11.66.
But he has only truly failed to perform his main duty as an opener twice. In his six innings for Queensland, Renshaw has faced 42, 70, 16, 109, 38 and three deliveries, spending valuable time at the crease against the new ball.
Yesterday’s machinations suggest Renshaw is firmly in the selectors’ thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s team announcement, and rightly so. To axe the stoic left-hander purely on Sheffield Shield form after giving him the opportunity to play 10 Tests since debuting a year ago would make little sense.
“He’s a very good player and in the back of his mind I’m sure he knows that,” said Bulls captain Usman Khawaja, who will tomorrow be recalled to the Test side.
“He has got a few good starts and unlucky dismissals. I’m sure he’ll turn it around.”
After losing 4-15 early yesterday, the Blues comfortably mowed down their target of 128 to win by six wickets with a day to spare.
There was an unexpected delay to NSW’s inevitable victory when Lyon’s kitchen mishap brought a halt to the match for 20 minutes as the grandstands were evacuated and firefighters arrived.