COVID no hurdle in Renshaw’s return from rock bottom
renshaw #renshaw
Given it was not that long ago that Matthew Renshaw feared his hopes of playing again for Queensland, let alone Australia, were in jeopardy, it is little wonder the batter has treated his COVID-19 diagnosis as a mere inconvenience.
After testing positive for the virus on the morning of his first Test in nearly five years, Renshaw was separated from teammates and relegated to isolation in a windowless den in the SCG’s Noble Stand more regularly used as a physio room for Australian Rules football games.
It was only a few days ago that he had dumped his gear in a home changeroom that brought back fond memories of his only Test century, struck during his maiden summer back in 2016-17.
“Everyone’s got their spots in the dressing room and I was like, ‘Where do I sit? ‘,” Renshaw told cricket.com.au’s Unplayable Podcast earlier this week. “Weirdly, I’m sitting in the same spot I sat six years ago.
“It was Davey (Warner) sitting next to me and I was like ‘Anyone there?’ and he was like, ‘No, you sit there’.
“I’ve got really good memories there. It’s weird how over so long that I’m back in the same spot.”
On Wednesday morning, Renshaw was wheeling his kit bag back away from his favoured seat next to former opening partner Warner after what he presumed were minor hay fever symptoms were in fact confirmed as a COVID-19 infection.
But while his reintroduction to international cricket has been unusual, Renshaw knows he is returning to the top flight as a more rounded cricketer, and person, than the one ushered in as a wet-behind-the-ears 20-year-old.
For one, the arrival of his and wife Josie’s first child, Charlotte, last month has required a level of maturity he admits he might not have possessed back when he earnt the nickname ‘Turtle’ for his shyness around the Australian team’s stars back during his first stint at that level.
“I’ve matured a lot in the last six years,” said Renshaw. “I feel like I can have adult conversations with a few of the guys – I didn’t feel like I could talk to any of them back in the day. At times I can still be the Turtle. But it’s more just being myself.”
His recall to face South Africa in Sydney also marks a significant turnaround from only three years ago when he was dropped from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield team amid a form slump and subsequent decision to take a break from cricket, admitting he was “mentally nowhere”.
It turned out to be a catalyst for his surge back into Test contention.
“It was the first time I had been dropped from the Queensland team,” said Renshaw, who had been squeezed out when Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne returned from Test duties in February 2020.
“I was always thinking about playing for Australia and I just started struggling with my batting and my mindset.
“At that point I had a couple of choices to make. I could have just waited two games for the Aussie boys to leave again and come back in and try and do well. I think a lot of guys would think that is the best way to go about it.
“But for me, I needed to take a break. I’d had a massive Big Bash with the Heat – I played every game, which I’d never done before.
“I had to take it on myself, which was a massive call for me. It could have been the end of my Queensland career. But I knew at that point I had to change something.”
His biggest change was one he was forced into.
Coming back into a settled Queensland top four the following season, Renshaw embraced a new role at No.5 and, in 34 first-class games since his return, has averaged 45 and posted seven centuries.
A role that carries the uncertainty of not knowing if he will be called to the crease in the fifth or 105th over of an innings has seen Renshaw develop layers to his game that have aided him even since being reinstated as an opener with Queensland.
“My second game at five I came out and it was reverse swinging. I was like, ‘This is so strange’,” said Renshaw, who has prepared extensively in recent days against spin and reverse-swing in anticipation of a dry SCG pitch.
The 26-year-old struck an unbeaten double century at nearby Drummoyne Oval last October against a Nathan Lyon-led NSW attack.
Patient Renshaw cashes in with career-best double ton
“I batted a long time and they got the ball reversing quite early in that game,” said Renshaw.
“I managed to face that bowling attack a lot in reverse-swinging conditions which was actually really positive for me … as an opener you don’t really get reverse-swinging conditions (often).
“Sometimes you’re not going to score for a while, sometimes you’re going to get on a little bit of a run and score, but it’s about absorbing as much as you can.”
The evolution of Renshaw’s game, also aided by three county stints in five years with Somerset and Kent, has proven invaluable given he is set to bat in the middle order for the first time in his Test career in Sydney.
Renshaw run-fest continues with patient ton
His improvements against spin – Renshaw counts a century against an Essex attack led by South African off-spinner Simon Harmer, who has also been recalled for the SCG Test, as a highlight of his most recent county season – coupled with that experience in England also bodes well for his hopes of playing on upcoming overseas tours.
“He’s become a new father as well in the last few weeks, which makes you grow up pretty quickly,” noted Test captain Pat Cummins.
“It’s a common trend, always has been, later into your twenties you’re a better batter than when you were starting out.
“Credit to him, he got his chance to debut in his early twenties which is a fantastic effort. He’s gone away and scored plenty of runs – you just learn your game better, you learn what works for you.
“Even T20 – (his) introduction of reverse sweeps and how to play spin differently – he just looks like he’s got more tools in his armoury than he did five or six years ago.”
Men’s NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa
First Test: Australia won by six wickets
Second Test: Australia won by an innings and 182 runs
Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, David Warner
South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo
Buy #AUSvSA Test tickets here
