News
A calm, almost detached Matt Renshaw insists he has pushed Ashes hype to the edge of his mind as he works through another Australian summer. The 29-year-old left-hander, fresh from an unbeaten 21 on one-day international debut against India, is theoretically in the frame to open in next year’s Ashes – but he is doing everything he can to avoid thinking about it.
“Obviously I want to be there, it would be remiss of me not to say that,” he told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday. “But I try and stay away from it as much as possible.”
Renshaw’s approach borders on self-imposed radio silence. He revealed he was so surprised to be added to Australia’s limited-overs squad that he had to google the fixture list to find out when – and where – the matches were being played. The same policy applies to the Sheffield Shield, where he has already banked a century for Queensland.
“There’s been times in my career where I come off after a Shield game, and obviously all the Shield games are on at the same time, and you’re looking at the scorecard, you’re looking at different names, seeing how they went,” he said. “Now, like the first Shield game, I couldn’t tell you who scored runs in other games.”
That change of mindset is deliberate. Renshaw debuted for Australia in 2016 at 20, made a hundred in his fourth Test and then drifted in and out of the side, his last cap coming in 2023. The early years, he admits, were filled with scoreboard-watching and selection paranoia. Today, fatherhood plays a far bigger role in framing his priorities.
“A lot of the time you try and force a few things, you see someone else gets runs, and you go: ‘I need to score runs because then I’m going to be picked for Australia, then I’m going to become a good person’,” he said. “That whole mentality when you’re young is that’s how you view yourself as a person.
“Whereas now I go home and I’ve got to change nappies, I’ve got to put kids to bed, I’ve got to try and calm screaming babies down. When you’re young, you go home, you have got nothing to do, so you’re just sitting on your phone scrolling.
“I hide. I don’t have the Cricket Australia app, I don’t try and look at any news, I hide all the cricket stuff on my Instagram so I don’t see it.”
Renshaw’s detachment hasn’t stopped others speaking on his behalf. Greg Chappell, former national captain and one-time selector, told local radio he believes Renshaw is the best candidate to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order in Perth. The endorsement is flattering, but the player himself refuses to bite.
Knowing Khawaja well helps. The two Queenslanders often chat about life outside the Test arena, especially Khawaja’s own three-year absence before earning a dramatic recall.
“Once you sort of realise that it might not happen again, you talk to people,” Renshaw said. “I am really close with Uzzy, he thought his Test journey was over and look at him now. I try and talk to him about how he’s going about it.
“It’s just amazing, it’s almost like once you let go of that one side of playing for Australia, that’s what I need to do.”
Ironically, letting go could be what drags him back. The century against South Australia in the opening Shield round reminded selectors of the tall opener who can bat long periods, leave well and wear down attacks. His defensive technique looked tighter than at any time since his debut series, but he also unfurled a handful of drives hinting at greater freedom.
Statistics still matter, of course. With Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and the emerging prodigy Teague Wyllie all piling up runs, the contest for David Warner’s old slot remains live. Renshaw, however, claims not to know – or care – what the rest are scoring.
“Knowing that it doesn’t really matter in terms of someone else scoring runs, it doesn’t matter to how I’m going to go out and play my game,” he said.
For now, the blueprint is simple. Score heavily for Queensland, relish any one-day chances that come his way, and stay present when he walks through the front door. Whether that is enough to deliver an Ashes berth will be decided elsewhere.
Renshaw appears content either way. And if he does get the nod, at least he already knows where the series is being played.
