Matthew Renshaw's another sublime century against New Zealand A pushes his case for Australia's Ashes squad selection

The Australian batter Matthew Renshaw has pushed his case in the stiff race for the upcoming Ashes tour selection by slamming his second century in another red-ball clash with New Zealand A in Lincoln. During his sublime knock, Renshaw piled up 140 off 261 deliveries in the second innings for the Australia A side. During the first match last week, the Queenslander scored a scintillating 112 and 78, respectively.

Notably, Australia A tour of New Zealand was curated to simulate the English conditions along with the use of Dukes balls, which are also used for 'The Ashes'. During his 19th first-class ton, the left-hander struck a maximum along with 12 boundaries. Moreover, this was Renshaw's sixth ton in the last one-year span. His innings ended after he edged one in a wild attempt to drive to hand the catch to a floating fielder in the slip cordon.

Matthew Renshaw had a horrid tour of India, where he just managed to score four runs in the first two Tests. However, going by his recent domestic and list-A performances, the 103-cap batter remains in contention for Australia squad selection for the England tour.

I love it (batting with Renshaw), Really like batting with him, he's a cool head out there: Ward

Now, speaking of the match scenario, bad light and rain-marred matches have been the highlight of Australia A's New Zealand tour. In the ongoing second match, rain yet again played possums which led to early stumps on day three with 20 overs remaining to be completed for the scheduled day. Courtesy of 136-run stand between Tim Ward and Matthew Renshaw, Australia A finished the day with 297/5 on the board. The visitors currently lead the hosts by 304 runs.

Post the stumps, reflecting on the game-changing partnership, Renshaw's partner Ward stated that so far, the pair have batted thrice together and have notched up century partnerships on all three occasions. Moreover, the Tasmanian batter did not shy away from admitting how much he relishes batting with the Queenslander.

"I love it (batting with Renshaw). The three times we've batted together we've had partnerships over 100 (runs) each time," Ward said.

"Really like batting with him, he's a cool head out there and keeps it really simple and it's a lot of fun," the 25-year-old was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Earlier, captain Aaron Hardie (33), fell cheaply with a run-out dismissal along with Campbell Kellaway (31), despite them getting good starts. It is worth mentioning that Tim Ward was the only other batter who got to raise his bat with his valiant 63-run knock. Furthermore, he has been the only batter alongside Renshaw, who has piled up over 200 runs in the ongoing series against New Zealand A. For the Kiwis, the Dutch international, Logan van Beek, bagged two wickets (2/47) as a notable performance for the hosts.