Renshaw right to play final

Queensland coach Wade Seccombe is breathing a sigh of relief, with opener Matt Renshaw cleared to play the Sheffield Shield final against Tasmania in Brisbane after overcoming concussion concerns.

The former Test opener was given the green light for the decider, starting on Friday at Allan Border Field, after a head knock in a collision with a teammate during the day-two warm-up in the Bulls’ outright win over NSW in Wollongong at the weekend.

“It’s all good now. I did my checks yesterday and passed all my tests. I am just looking forward to a massive week for the Bulls,” Renshaw said.

Seccombe admitted it was a weight off his shoulders after initially naming batsman Lachlan Pfeffer in a 13-strong Bulls squad, placing him on standby for Renshaw.

“We were a little worried to start with but we followed all the protocols and he has come through with flying colours so it is a bit of a relief,” Seccombe said.

Bulls batsman Sam Heazlett no doubt was also a relieved man after he accidentally struck Renshaw’s head with his knee in the pre-game warm-up incident.

“He kept saying sorry to me all that day,” Renshaw said of the bizarre accident.

“(Now) we are just excited about playing in a Shield final.

“I am getting goosebumps just thinking about winning a title.”

Bulls batsman Joe Burns is the sole survivor of the last Queensland side to win a Shield title – in 2011-12, also against Tasmania.

And Burns and all-rounder Michael Neser are the only Bulls team members to have featured in Queensland’s last Shield final appearance, in 2012-13 – again against the Tigers.

Lanky left-hander Renshaw, having been dropped from the Test team at the start of the summer, has responded with three tons in as many games.

“It’s weird. I had not been expecting to turn my season around that much,” said Renshaw after scoring 686 runs at 40.35 this summer for the Bulls.

“But when I have been getting in, I have made sure when I got in, I went really big.”