After being relegated to a patient opening batsman only in the Test arena, Matthew Renshaw’s evolution into an aggressive middle-order player has him in the frame to become Australia’s next three-pronged weapon.
His performances for Brisbane Heat to keep their Big Bash League campaign alive is proof of that, and as power-hitting batsman Tim David looks to be fit for the T20 World Cup in February, his form has come at an ideal time.
The Queenslander joked that “T20 cricket has always been something I’ve obviously not been good at” after scoring a breakthrough BBL century against the Perth Scorchers, but his 324 runs (at 40.50) this season is behind only Stars wicketkeeper Sam Harper.
Can Matthew Renshaw become Australia’s next tri-format player?Credit: Getty
His handy off spin also produced five wickets.
In Brisbane’s shock three-run win against the top-of-the-table Hurricanes on Wednesday night, Renshaw backed up his quickfire 37 from 25 balls with a piece of fielding brilliance – leaping to prevent a six when Hobart needed just 18 runs to win.
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While David is tipped to have recovered from a hamstring injury in time for the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, Renshaw’s prowess against spin bowling could make him the perfect replacement in the subcontinent as he finds a home in the middle order.
“I tried to do the opening stuff in one-day cricket and I probably got too excited – two fielders were trying to scramble a bit,” Renshaw said in December.
“I know when I’m batting right and trying to hit the sweep hard, we obviously spin a lot in the middle order and I feel like that’s my strength, being able to take risks with different options.”
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