After a major upset for the Australian side, Matthew Renshaw has been fast tracked for a Test recall in Mackay as the Kangaroos look to level the series against visitors Bangladesh. Renshaw would be replacing the dropped opener Jake Weatherald, and is in the box seat to take on the new ball alongside Travis Head at the Great Barrier Reef Arena for the second Test against Bangladesh.
Weatherald had been handed a national contract in April after several strong opening partnerships with Travis Head in Australia’s comprehensive 4-1 series victory in the Ashes, but he has now been discarded one Test later. Weatherald, who had brought about changes in his playing style, tweaking his technique to avoid lbws and bowled dismissals, edged behind in the first innings in Darwin and chopped on the second. In his hometown Test, Weatherald made 23 and 0 respectively.
“It’s always hard to critique small sample sizes on whether it holds up (at international level). He (Weatherald) dragged one on and drove at one in the first innings and was dismissed; it’s probably harder with that smaller sample size to say, ‘Yep, that’s going to hold up under pressure’. But there was some change though,” said coach Andrew McDonald.
Josh Inglis was touted as the other left-field option to bat alongside Travis Head, despite usually batting at five or below in the Sheffield Shield. The selectors, however, were confident in Inglis’ ability to open the batting, supported by his scores of 40 and 125* whilst opening for Cricket Australia XI against the England Lions last November.
Renshaw’s Stats
Matthew Renshaw would be the conventional and expected pick owing to his two first-class centuries at the northern Queensland venue. Renshaw last played a Test three years ago in Delhi, batting in the middle of the order. However, the Kangaroos are well known to be open-minded regarding their batting order in recent times, with the promotion of Head from No. 5 to opener during the Ashes the perfect example of this.
Renshaw was also the best performer of the Sheffield Shield opener last year, scoring three hundreds in ten innings and averaging just below 50.
The Labuschagne Variable
Marnus Labuschagne, though in the squad currently, is also under pressure to hold onto his No.3 position, having scored 1 and 31 in the first Test against Bangladesh. This leaves the Australian side with enough legroom to make two changes to their top three.
Labuschagne is averaging 25.23 from his last 42 Test innings, without having made an international century in the past three years.
“It’s easy for me to sit here and try to defend that. But ultimately, it’s 31. It’s not a big score. He’s lacked runs. He feels that. We feel that. We’re working incredibly hard as a coaching group … we’ve got to get the best out of Marn as well. He’s had a bit of a lull. He knows that he’s gone to work. I think we saw some change in the way that he played, so that’s good. Some of that work that he had done feels as though it’s stuck up under pressure,” said coach McDonald.
Bangladesh next plays Australia at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, starting on Saturday, the 22nd of August.
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