RENSHAW AT CENTRE OF COVID DRAMA

MATT Renshaw’s comeback Test was plunged into momentary chaos when he was detected as a Covid victim just minutes before the start of the Sydney Test.

It was reportedly only after the toss that Renshaw asked the Australian team doctor Leigh Golding out on the field for some Telfast tablets because he felt he had hayfever coming on.

The doctor told Renshaw that under team protocols, he would also be required to take a Covid test as a precaution – and as a result the comeback batsman was at the 11th hour separated from teammates at the national anthem and did not link arms like the rest. A RAT Test soon confirmed Renshaw did in fact have Covid, which was ironic given that Pat Cummins had said only the day before that he was stunned Australia had got through the Test summer without a single positive case. Team sheets are not locked in until the toss, but it’s almost certain Renshaw would have still been named in the XI even if he had reported his symptoms earlier.

However, the fact he didn’t return a positive test until after the toss does mean that technically Renshaw could be subbed out of the match under the ICC’s Covid rules should his symptoms worsen.

Australia has declared though that Renshaw will play out the rest of the match, with his symptoms only mild.

Renshaw was immediately transferred to a separate dressing room to teammates and spent the first hour of play sitting near the Australian dugout. Some commentators queried why Renshaw wasn’t wearing a mask given his proximity to the crowd and other players, even though he was outside. There have been lots of occurrences of Covid positive stars playing in the Big Bash, including Marcus Stoinis and Joe Burns this season.