Former Test opener Matthew Renshaw could become a vital cog in Australia’s ODI rebuild ahead of the 2027 World Cup following the retirement of superstar Steve Smith.
The 29-year-old, best known by fans for his red-ball feats, has been included in Australia’s 15-player ODI squad for the upcoming series against India, which gets underway this weekend. He has a strong chance to make his national white-ball debut in Perth on Sunday.
Renshaw, previously named in the ODI squad for the 2022 tour of Pakistan, was the second-leading run-scorer of last summer’s domestic one-day competition, accumulating 305 at 50.83 with a strike rate of 114.23. Batting predominantly in the middle order for Queensland, the left-hander has maintained a List A batting average of 48.68 since November 2021, hitting six hundreds during that period.
After smacking a 68-ball 102 against Victoria in 2023 and a 99-ball 122 against Tasmania last summer, Renshaw earned an Australia A call-up for July’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin, hitting scores of 80, 106 and 62.
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Despite the recent success, Renshaw confessed he was “pretty surprised” by the ODI call-up while speaking to ABC Grandstand last week.
“I didn’t really have it on my agenda,” he said.
“I wasn’t expecting it.”
Renshaw was pigeonholed as a red-ball specialist early in his career, especially after posting a sluggish 34 not out off 137 balls on Test debut against South Africa, which featured 23 consecutive dot balls. It’s taken him nine years to get rid of the “preconceived idea” that he didn’t have the makings of a one-day weapon.
“My career from the start was always about red-ball cricket,” Renshaw continued.
“I was known as a bloke who just stood there and batted for a long time without scoring too quickly.
“I always felt I had the ability to succeed in the white-ball format, it was just about the opportunities and shaking that preconceived idea.”
He added: “To be recognised after the hard work that I’ve done in my white-ball cricket over the last seven years has been really nice.”
Renshaw’s white-ball resurgence has coincided with the ODI downfall of Marnus Labuschagne – since the 2023 World Cup, the right-hander has averaged 21.90 in the national 50-over side, notching scores of 1 and 1 against South Africa in August.
The ODI series loss to the Proteas in northern Queensland exposed frailties in Australia’s middle order – Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have each retired from the 50-over format, while Labuschagne has since been dropped from the national squad. With less than two years until the 2027 World Cup, the Australian selectors will be hoping Renshaw can fill the middle-order role that Smith successfully occupied for over a decade.
“I know there has been a lot of conjecture around (Renshaw’s) scoring rate, but I think he’s definitely earned his place,” former fast bowler Brett Lee told Fox Cricket.
“There would have been a part of his career where he would have thought, ‘You know, I’m not like a spring chicken anymore. What can I do to get a guernsey here?’
“He has kept scoring runs and waiting for the opportunity. He’s got that opportunity now.”
Elsewhere, former spinner Kerry O’Keeffe praised Renshaw’s transformation from a tentative blocker into a 360-degree batter, calling him “the most impressive white-ball player for Australia in the last few months”.
“The (ODI team) mantra is hit big, and Matt Renshaw can do that,” O’Keeffe explained to Fox Cricket.
“His stroke range has expanded over the years. He reverse sweeps spinners, he sweeps spinners, he hits fast bowlers over the top of cover, and he’s always had a powerful leg-side game.
“He can cut it with the hitters. He’s not as exciting as a Tim David or a Mitch Owen, but there’s something about Matt Renshaw.”
He continued: “He’s now ready to play (for Australia) again.
“He looked short of it when he first arrived on Test cricket defensively, but he’s worked on that.
“His time is close.”
It’s been almost nine years since the then 20-year-old Renshaw, at the time dubbed the next Matthew Hayden, made his Test debut against South Africa at Adelaide Oval. He scored a century against Pakistan during the 2017 New Year’s match at the SCG but averaged 19.41 across his next ten Tests, losing his spot in the starting XI.
However, Renshaw has remained on the fringe of the Test set-up, earning selection for the 2023 Ashes squad and picked as the reserve batter for last year’s tour of New Zealand.
Having started his domestic summer with a century during Queensland’s drawn Sheffield Shield contest against Tasmania in Brisbane, the father-of-two remains a candidate to open the batting during the Ashes. Chair of selectors George Bailey famously earned a Test call-up during the 2013/14 Ashes off the back of one-day performances, something Renshaw will be hoping to replicate this summer.
“There are aspirations to try and play Test cricket again,” Renshaw said.
“It’s been a weird career for me in the Test arena, but I feel like I’ve got the ability to do it if selected.”
Renshaw also admitted that he’s been guilty of fretting about other potential Test openers in the Sheffield Shield competition, worrying about his place in the pecking order.
“In the past when I’ve cared too much about people succeeding or failing, it’s put a real dampener on my cricket and my mental health,” he continued.
“I couldn’t tell you what anyone scored in that first round of Shield games because I haven’t looked; it doesn’t help me.”
Former Australian opener David Warner walked out to bat alongside Renshaw on ten occasions in the Test arena, with the duo averaging 40.00 together at the top of the order.
Speaking to reporters this week, Warner identified that Renshaw has become more balanced in his stance since he stopped walking across the crease, a minor tweak that has seemingly paid dividends.
“Look at the way he’s changed his set-up; he used to step across, and he probably was off-balanced quite a bit,” Warner explained.
“He went away for a couple of years and learnt how to get that fixed.
“I’ve always had it in my mind that he’d be an opening batsman in one-day cricket, he’s got that Matthew Hayden presence.
“He’s got the game to take it on. You’ve seen in the Big Bash what he can do through that middle period.”
For the upcoming ODI series against India, Renshaw is expected to slot into the middle order alongside wicketkeeper Josh Inglis and all-rounder Cameron Green. Versatile batter Matt Short, young gun Cooper Connolly and the uncapped Mitchell Owen will also be fighting for spots in the starting XI.
Owen was poised to make his ODI debut against the Proteas in August, but the Tasmanian all-rounder was ruled out of the series due to delayed concussion symptoms. However, the 24-year-old could help fill the vacancy left by Maxwell and Stoinis as Australia builds towards the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
Renshaw’s left-handedness will be a welcome addition in a middle order packed with right-handers, while having maintained a strike rate of 112.69 across his ten most recent List A matches for Queensland, he’s more than capable of upping the tempo and counterattacking if required.
During last summer’s Big Bash League, Renshaw was the Brisbane Heat’s leading run-scorer with 280 runs at 35.00, boasting a healthy strike rate of 169.69.
“I’ve got all the gears that I need,” Renshaw told cricket.com.au earlier this year.
“I just really enjoy playing the different scenarios; whether we’re chasing, whether we’re setting, whether I need to see off a few, or go pretty hard from ball one, it always feels like I’ve got something to offer.”
Having tinkered with his technique during the off-season alongside Queensland batting coach Wade Townsend, Renshaw feels as though he still has plenty to offer for Australia and the Bulls as he enters the second half of his professional career.
“I’ve been in the game ten years now,” Renshaw continued.
“I’ve seen a lot, I’ve played around 120 first-class games. Timing and luck are always two big (factors) as well, but I feel like I’m ready to hit another level.”
The first ODI between Australia and India gets underway at Perth Stadium from 2.30pm AEDT.
Additional reporting from Courtney Walsh
