Veteran seen training alone as Matt Renshaw advocates for his Test recall
While Renshaw appreciated that Head’s heroics may have been necessary to counter England’s approach, he said fill-in options should not be treated as a selection plan.
“I think the way Trav comes out and plays, you probably look at him and say ‘he comes out and plays T20 cricket one day’. On the other hand, we’ve seen Steve Smith, the best player Australia has produced this generation, try to open and bat normally and that’s quite difficult,” Renshaw said.
“I still see it as a specialist position. Let’s say you’re doing 140 reps on the field, you’re making a 10-minute change and you’re hitting right away, so it’s quite a challenge.
Usman Khawaja is desperate to prove his fitness.Credit: Getty Images
“What Heady went out and did took the game away from him [from England]. “That may be the option in this series, but it depends on what’s going on.”
Since David Warner’s retirement in early 2024, Khawaja has been paired with four interim openers (Head, Smith, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne), all of whom have been picked out of position to do little to fill the void.
However, this coincided with a decline in Khawaja’s own form; Not counting the 233 in Sri Lanka, the average of 30 overs has fallen to 23 in the last two years.
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Renshaw has yet to be given the chance to add to his 14 Test caps, but his dominant summer opener in Queensland has thrust him back into the conversation – he scored three Sheffield Shield hundreds and was impressive in his first one-day international series against India.
McSweeney, who will captain the Heat in their opening BBL game against the Melbourne Renegades on December 15, was tested by fire against Indian pioneer Jasprit Bumrah last summer, averaging 14.40 in three Tests before being replaced by Sam Konstas.
However, as usual, moving to the 3rd and 4th places reaped the rewards; He was able to keep himself within the scope of a Test recall at the track with an unbeaten 226 for Australia A against the England Lions at the weekend.
The Queensland-based South Australian felt that anyone batting in the top order could theoretically develop into a first-innings batsman but success would depend on the circumstances.
“Heady has opened up a lot in the last three or four years with the white ball. Different circumstances can affect it a bit, but the best batsmen in the world seem to find a way; it doesn’t matter where you put them,” McSweeney said.
“It will be interesting to see what they do in the next Test. The boys are flying at the moment and they have a top-class batsman there.” [in Khawaja]Who averages 45 in Test cricket.
“Must be a typical Adelaide door. I’m sure SACA [South Australia Cricket Association] wants to have a more comprehensive Test than the previous one; I think they had two pink balls in a row for three days.
“I expect it will probably be batsman friendly and Nathan Lyon will play a big role.”
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