Mike Hussey backs Matt Renshaw to return to Test team in home conditions
TEST great Mike Hussey has called on selectors to pick and stick with Australia’s desert escape artists but believes deck chairs might shuffle come the home summer.
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TEST great Mike Hussey has called on selectors to pick and stick with Australia’s desert escape artists but believes deck chairs might shuffle come the home summer.
Australian coach Justin Langer has hinted Matt Renshaw might be considered for a shock appointment at No.3 against India in December if new opening pair Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch continue to click, emphasising that chemistry at the top of the order is paramount.
Hussey believes the more likely option might be for Finch to slide down to the middle-order when the goalposts shift to swinging new-ball conditions in Australia.
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However, Mr Cricket says Langer and the selectors have an opportunity after the heroics in Dubai to give their troupe of unheralded rookies time to breathe and evolve.
Marnus Labuschagne made 0 and 13 on Test debut and the Marsh brothers struggled up the order at No.3 and 4, but Hussey says if recent history has taught Australia anything it’s that reactive decisions with personnel has set the team back.
In regards to Tuesday’s deciding Test in Abu Dhabi, the consideration Langer will give to resting Mitchell Starc shapes as the only possible change – an attitude Hussey believes players can inspire players to flourish.
“As a player it’s really nice to know that if you understand what your role is, you’ve got a chance to make it your own,” said Hussey who is in Dubai commentating for Fox Cricket.
“One of the mistakes we’ve made in the past is we’ve chopped and changed a bit too much and we’ve made our mind up about players, that (for example) they can’t play in the subcontinent let’s get rid of them. But you need to fail in these conditions, quite a few times before figuring it out and I think the perfect example of that is Usman Khawaja
“If you’ve got the backing of the selectors and a bit of faith, then you don’t feel like every single innings is going to be your last.
“It’s important to give the players that backing.”
It appears there’s a potential avenue back at first drop for Renshaw who was desperately unlucky not to play in Dubai after scoring six hundreds in the past 10 months.
But Hussey feels like Renshaw to the top and Finch to the middle might be the smarter ploy if selectors look at rejigging the line-up for the home summer.
Either way, Khawaja could be set for a new career – like Langer before him – as an opener.
“(Renshaw) is probably best suited to the top of the order and that’s where the flexibility of Finch could be there as well,” sad Hussey.
“I think Finch’s game is well-suited to playing here in the subcontinent. He might be more challenged when you come to playing in Australia against the new ball or in England against the new ball.
“There could be a possibility that Finch moves down the order.
“But at the moment the guys who are in there doing the job, it’s their spot and the guys waiting in the wings have to try and earn their spot or wait for a chance to come through form or injury.”
Not so long ago Renshaw was seen exclusively as an opener but Australian batting coach Graeme Hick says he has evolved his game in the past 12 months to the point where he could be an option anywhere in the order.
“Definitely. In England (county cricket) even in the shorter form of the game he batted at 5 or 6 for Somerset in some games and did well,” said Hick.
“That’s up to JL but there’s no reason why not. He’s a very talented young player. He’s hungry to play and his game is developing so if he fits in somewhere else, great.”