After being ignored for first Test, Matt Renshaw slams 345 in the Sheffield Shield

Sometimes, ‘being let down’ works wonder for a sportsman’s potential. Matt Renshaw, the 22-year-old Australian opening batsman who has been overlooked for the first Test against India starting December 6 in Adelaide, made his presence felt by smashing 345 in Queensland Premier Cricket on Saturday and at the receiving end Wynnum/Manly.

The left-hand batsman hit 38 fours and 12 maximums in his 273-ball knock for Brisbane side Toombul in the two-day match to smash the record held by Wade Townsend who hit 311 not out in the tournament in 2009-10. With his mammoth knock, Renshaw took his tally of runs to 611 in four outings for Toombul this season at an average of almost 204. His record for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield has, however, been the opposite with 158 runs in eight innings with just one half-century.

Marcus Harris set for debut in India series

Renshaw, who made his Test debut as a 20-year-old against South Africa at home in 2016, played his last Test against the same opposition in the tainted series in March this year. He could not play his team’s last Test assignment, which was against Pakistan last month, because of a concussion in a tour game ahead of the first match. Now, he has been ignored for the first Test against India with Victoria opener Marcus Harris set for his debut in the longer format.

Harris has had a completely opposite run in the Sheffield Shield, scoring 501 runs in five matches and that includes an unbeaten 250 against New South Wales. Renshaw, on the other hand, has played 11 Tests so far and averages 33-plus with one hundred.

The upcoming series is Australia’s first at home since the 2017-18 Ashes which they won 4-0. However, the Baggy Greens do not have two of their premier scorers – Steve Smith and David Warner – in this series as they are serving bans and that made a number of experts believe that this could be India’s series this time.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from Australia vs India series, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.