Australia v India Test team: Matt Renshaw pushing for spot with Cameron Green doubtful for opener
With Cameron Green in doubt for the first Test, Matthew Renshaw can really kick his intriguing Test comeback into full gear. But the subcontinent does carry some bad memories.
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The great moments of Test cricket never leave a player, nor do the most traumatic ones.
Matthew Renshaw was walking through a pharmacy to collect essentials before his departure to India, only to be reminded of the inglorious moment on his last trip, when a full blown bathroom emergency forced him to sprint off the field mid-innings.
“I was in the chemist the other day and I walked past and saw some adult diapers and I was so close to buying them,” Renshaw admits, only partly joking.
“I’d just rather be safe than sorry! I’ll try and keep the diet under control so everything else can be sorted.”
It was one of the most extraordinary sights in Test cricket in the first Test in Pune, 2017, to see Renshaw fleeing the crease 15 not out in fear of what might be beamed around the world on global television had he stayed out in his whites a moment longer.
Captain Steve Smith was in equal parts bewildered and furious as his batting partner ran past him to the exit gate to retire ‘hurt’ at a crucial moment in the Test following the dismissal of David Warner — and Allan Border in the commentary box struggled to hide his astonishment.
But when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go, and it’s a scarring experience that made Renshaw’s Covid drama in his comeback Test in Sydney recently a walk in the park.
“I’d rather have Covid than go off to the toilet every day of the week,” Renshaw says.
“It was definitely different (being isolated from teammates at the SCG). As I said to a few of the boys, it’ll be another good chapter in my book.
“It was just so strange. I didn’t feel like I was terribly Covid sick, I just felt like I had a bit of hay fever. Then had to test, tested positive, then straight into another dressing room.
“But I’d never change that week for the world. The first time in five years I was pulling on the baggy green which is pretty special on any occasion.
“I loved it, every part of it. If it anything (the Covid drama), it made it more memorable.”
Now a golden opportunity could be about to open for Renshaw to really kick his intriguing Test comeback into full gear.
All-rounder Cameron Green is in significant doubt to recover from a fractured finger in time to play next Thursday’s first Test in Nagpur.
It gives Renshaw a good chance of retaining the seat he was warming at No.6 in the Sydney Test, although right-hander Peter Handscomb is also a strong contender to play instead.
Renshaw’s time is coming though, with Australia bracing for the retirement of one or both of their 36-year-old openers Warner and Usman Khawaja, potentially over the next 12 months.
When Renshaw was thrust into the Test arena before he was really ready due to a crisis period for Australian cricket in late 2016, his hallmark attribute was his even temperament and ability to occupy the crease.
In some ways he appeared an incompatible partner for Warner because of his struggles to score and rotate the strike.
But in the time since, Renshaw has evolved to the point where he is now the logical option to succeed Warner at the top of the order as a batsman not only capable of seeing off the new ball, but accelerating the game away from opponents.
The sight of Renshaw smashing three consecutive sixes against Warner’s Sydney Thunder in the first Big Bash final was a sign that the inevitably testing transition period post Warner may not be as painful as first feared.
“I don’t think anyone can replace Davey in terms of what he’s done and how he’s gone about it. Virender Sehwag is the only other guy I can think of who has done what he’s done as an opening batsman and had such a good record for such a long period of time,” Renshaw says.
“I won’t go out there and try and bat like Davey. I don’t think that’s smart for me to do. I’ll bat like myself.
“There’s an opportunity there, whenever that is. Hopefully I can try and take that.
“I think I always had the shots growing up. It was just I never played them. And then after playing a year of Test cricket I got told I needed to play a few more shots.
“I tried to play more shots but … I just tried to play shots off every ball at the wrong time and that hurt me a lot.”
In the short-term Renshaw may do a job for Australia in the middle-order, but the long term goal is to make a career as a Test opener.
“Yeah definitely. I’m back opening in Shield cricket and I’ve had a bit of success there this year,” Renshaw said.
“I love opening. I love the challenges of the new ball. I love dealing with the new ball. No two innings are the same and that’s what’s so great about opening.”
Renshaw believes he is a much better player — and one who has learnt plenty on and off the field — since he last toured India in 2017.
“I’m prepared to play the first Test. But that’s the goal of any time you go across for these trips,” Renshaw said.
“Whether I do or not, that’s another issue. But, I just try and get preparation right.
“I’ve had a bit of success there already, which is really nice. I think my game has come a long way since then. It’s probably changed a lot.
“But I think the learnings of what happened there last time, on the field, off the field as well has definitely helped me and just working out being myself more as well. That’s a big thing.”
That and no more seafood curry.
MURPHY A ‘GENUINE CHANCE’ TO PARTNER FELLOW OFFIE LYON IN INDIA
Peter Handscomb and Matthew Renshaw are firming for a first Test selection shootout in India, unless Cameron Green can make up rapid ground in his recovery from a fractured finger.
Gun all-rounder Green has already been ruled out of bowling in the first Test, but he is in serious danger of missing the Nagpur series opener altogether with less than a week to convince selectors and medical staff that he’s ready to bat in a Test match.
If Green fails to make the cut for the first Test starting on February 9, an intriguing selection battle looms between Handscomb and Renshaw.
Left-hand Renshaw is the incumbent No. 6 from the Sydney Test, but right-hander Handscomb would allow Australia to break up left-handers Travis Head and Alex Carey in the batting order – often seen as an important tactical play in spinning conditions.
Green is not out of the running to play as a specialist batsman, but captain Pat Cummins admits time is running out.
“I know he won’t be bowling (in the first Test). The next week’s obviously really important. He hasn’t been able to do a lot yet,” Cummins said, with the full Australian tour of India to be shown exclusively on Fox Sports and Foxtel, with Kayo also carrying a Hindi feed for every match.
“I think the nature of that particular injury is once it comes good, it comes good really quickly.
“Hopefully we’re at that stage where the next week, it really does improve a lot.
“I think he was going to try and have a hit this afternoon. I haven’t seen how that’s gone, but we’ll see how the next week goes, the next few days in particular, and map out a plan.
“(We’re) still kind of hopeful, but see how he goes.”
The other selection shootout looming for Australia in Nagpur next week is the choice of who to partner Nathan Lyon as the second spinner.
Cummins said he was particularly impressed by Ashton Agar and youngster Todd Murphy at a spin camp in North Sydney last week before the team flew to India.
Murphy, 22, is considered a genuine chance to debut despite being an off-spinner like Lyon.
“I’ve only seen a little bit of Todd. Obviously he’s done really well in Shield cricket, and the guys that have faced him have been really impressed with not just his stock ball, but also his variations,” Cummins said.
“Mixing up the pace, flights it slightly differently to what Nathan does, and getting those opportunities like at North Sydney to really have the conditions in your favour is fun. It’s where you can get really creative.
“I thought he and Ashton Agar in particular really enjoyed it. You can kind of relax and really show off how good you are. They were both impressive, could kind of land it where they wanted to more often than not and change different speeds and arm paths and angles to the crease – all those subtleties that you might not be able to pick up on the TV, but do make a big difference.”
Meanwhile, Travis Head is being given a license to thrill in his middle-order role in India and is being endorsed as Australia’s key batting weapon.
Head has struggled in his previous experiences on the subcontinent in Test cricket, but has been a run-scoring juggernaut for Australia in the past two home summers against England, West Indies and South Africa.
It’s possible Head could shift down from No. 5 to No. 6 in the line-up, depending on how Australia lines up – and will be encouraged to play aggressively and try and change the momentum of the series.
“Trav just shows time and time again that he finds a way to score runs, whether it’s a seaming green top, like at Hobart last year where no one else could score a run, he just a way to score runs and make bowling at him really difficult,” Cummins said.
“That’s the goal for this Indian tour – he’s a really formidable player when he steps out there to bat and he’s got that intent.
“When a batter’s got that intent towards you, it’s really hard to be accurate. Your margin of error is so small.
“I think he’s just been a stand up for this team. Coming in at No. 6, he can turn the game around in a matter of an hour.
“At times, even more so in India, that’s going to be really important.
“It might not be a hundred, but a really important 30 or 40 could be just as valuable. Again, just finding his own method to work in these conditions and just back it in 100 per cent.”
Kayo will also show the women’s T20 World Cup live and free as a Kayo freebie and not requiring a subscription.
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