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Rogers' tip to make way for Marsh

Ex-Test opener says Matthew Renshaw's performance on day four in Adelaide makes him 'undroppable'

Former Test batsman Chris Rogers believes debutant opener Matthew Renshaw fulfilled his mandate perfectly during the second innings of Australia's third Test victory against South Africa, declaring him "undroppable" following the performance.


Renshaw, who came into the side at the expense of Joe Burns and with a reputation as being something of a stonewaller, finished the match unbeaten on 34, anchoring Australia's run chase of 127 and soaking up 137 balls in the process.

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Through one period, the 20-year-old faced 32 balls without scoring, and while it perhaps made for dry viewing for a generation fed on a diet of T20 cricket, his circumspect approach adroitly complemented the more aggressive David Warner (47 from 51) and Steve Smith (40 from 52).

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But Rogers, who also opened for Australia alongside the dashing David Warner through the majority of his 25 Tests and like Renshaw earned a reputation as a grafter, insisted that the Queenslander had carried out exactly what would have been asked of him by selectors during his near three-hour stay at the crease.

"He wants to bat long (periods) and really do a job for his teammates, and that’s what he did," Rogers told Optus Sport's 'Stumps'.

"Whoever the selector was that called him up, they would have said to him, 'We just want you to bat balls'. And what did he do? He batted balls, he didn't get out.

"He's almost undroppable now."

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With Australia fielding three debutant batsmen under the chairmanship of interim head selector Trevor Hohns – Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson – and the whiff of a new era very much in the air, the future of injured West Australian Shaun Marsh has become the subject of much debate.

Marsh posted hundreds in his previous two Tests leading into the South Africa series and added an assured half-century opening the innings in the series opener in Perth, before sustaining a broken finger.

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Two of the 33-year-old's four Test hundreds have come in Sri Lanka, and while he has never donned the Baggy Green in India, those subcontinental centuries hold particularly valuable currency for a side that has lost its past nine contests in Asia.

That sequence stretches back to the disastrous 'Homeworkgate' tour of India in 2013, in which Australia were wiped 4-0, with whitewashes against Pakistan (2-0 in October 2014) and Sri Lanka (3-0 in July-August 2016) completing a trifecta of humiliations.

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And while Rogers believes Marsh must be part of Australia's touring party to India next February, he sees Maddinson - who made a duck in his only innings in the match - as the new addition more likely to make way.

That difficult decision could come sooner rather than later, with Marsh expected to again be available for selection during the upcoming Test series against Pakistan. 

"I don't think (Marsh can replace Renshaw) now," he continued.

"I think you've got to get Marsh back in the side before India because otherwise what cricket is he going to play (before that series)?

"I'd like to see him back in because he'll be one of the first picked for that Indian series.

"But really, can you drop Renshaw? It might be hard on maybe Maddinson but Renshaw, what a job he did.

"His brief was to chew balls and (that's what he did)."

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