An in-form Matt Renshaw has put himself firmly in the frame to dethrone David Warner at the top of Australia’s batting order for the upcoming Ashes.
In the past 12 months, the opening batter who hails from Queensland has scored six centuries at first class level.
Two of those came in the recent two-part Australia A tour against New Zealand A across the ditch.
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Although the visitors lost the series 1-0, it offered Renshaw an opportunity to put his hand up for selection before the tour to the UK.
The 27-year-old made scores of 112, 78, two, and 140.
It’s grim reading for Warner, whose spot at the top is far from safe just a few months out from the five Test series.
Speaking with 2GB’s WWOS Radio, Renshaw said he’s eager to cement his place as an opening batter.
“It’s feeling like a really nice time in my career and I’m probably feeling the best I have in a long time in the red ball,” said Renshaw.
“I’ve always loved the challenge of opening the batting. It’s where I started my career.
“Fortunately, careers can go in certain different paths, and for me that was an experience in the middle order with Queensland, which I think strengthened my game quite a bit and gave me that opportunity to bat in the middle order in recent times.
“But yeah, I think opening is always somewhere where I want to be. It’s normally the toughest conditions and it’s the most satisfying when you succeed.”
Renshaw was picked earlier this year for the final Test against South Africa in Sydney where he made five unbeaten runs in a contest dogged by rain and ultimately drawn.
He kept his place in the side for the tour to India where he struggled, scoring just four runs across three innings.
All three dismissals were by LBW and came as a middle-order batter in some of the toughest conditions ever faced in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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From 2016 to 2018, Renshaw opened the batting for Australia in Tests in all but one outing.
Renshaw’s desire to open the batting could conceivably see him take Warner’s place, despite the 36-year-old’s status as an all-time great.
Given Usman Khawaja’s purple patch, it’s hard to imagine Australian selectors would move him from his spot.
Since making his mammoth double-hundred in Melbourne, Warner has struggled. In the subsequent four innings before his tour of India was cut short due to injury, he made scores of 10, one, 10, and 15.
Warner was already under a cloud prior to that double-century, having made just two half-centuries across 19 innings in 2022.
Whether Renshaw is ready to resume his role as Australia’s opening batter can only be decided by the selectors, but his first class form would suggest he’s more than capable.
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What’s also encouraging for selectors is his form in the UK, having made two centuries in county cricket last year.
“I felt like I was feeling pretty good, especially early on in the season when it’s quite green,” said Renshaw.
“I got a 90 and a hundred there. I feel like I’ve done pretty well over there when I’ve had my opportunities but it’s just looking to now and how well I’m going at the moment.”
This year’s Ashes series gets underway with the first test across June 16-20 at Edgbaston.
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