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New Aussie opener's English connection

The young Bulls opener has strong ties to Australia's Ashes rivals but is firmly committed to the Baggy Green

Given the company he grew up with, it’s perhaps not surprising that 20-year-old Matt Renshaw has long been regarded as a Test cricketer in waiting.



Born in Yorkshire, Renshaw is a family friend of star England batsman Joe Root, while their fathers also played club cricket together in England's north-east.

But having moved to Australia (via a four-year stint in New Zealand) when he was 11, Renshaw is now firmly committed to the green and gold.

Quick Single: Australia axe five for Adelaide Test

And with just one-and-a-bit seasons of Sheffield Shield cricket behind him, he is set to become Australia's 449th Test cricketer after he was today named in a 12-man squad for the third Commonwealth Bank Test in Adelaide.

"I probably wanted to play for England when I was younger but since I moved here I thought maybe I will get an opportunity to play for Australia one day - now it's come true," Renshaw told reporters in Brisbane.

"But yeah a while ago I used to barrack for England.

"It has happened so quickly. A week ago I was playing grade cricket for Toombul (in Brisbane) - now I could be playing for Australia."

Renshaw has vaulted into the reckoning for a Test debut after just his 12th first-class match, in which he posted 108 and 50 in Queensland's Shield match against South Australia over the past four days.

It comes after a dream 18-month period for the burly left-hander, which started with an unexpected opportunity while on holiday in the country of his birth.

Renshaw impresses with Shield century

In August 2015, Australia’s Under-19s were on tour in the UK and in desperate need of an last-minute injury replacement when South Australia’s Patrick Page suffered a toe injury. With Renshaw nearby in the north of England visiting family, team management jumped on the chance to bring him in as a replacement.

He then scored an unbeaten 69 from 108 balls as Australia claimed an eight-wicket win with almost 10 overs to spare, and has barely looked back since.

Quick Single: Matured Handscomb ripe for the picking

He fell agonisingly short of his maiden Shield ton for the Bulls last November, dismissed for 94 against South Australia in just his third first-class match, but he didn't have to wait long to bring up his first three-figure total.

A magnificent 170 a month later against a NSW bowling attack led by Doug Bollinger and Steve O'Keefe, a 395-ball epic over more than eight-and-a-half hours of batting, was followed by his second first-class ton in the Bulls' next match, 146 against the Redbacks in Adelaide.

Renshaw racks up 170

His first Shield season - which yielded 738 runs at 43 - rocketed him into his country's secondary national side in quicker time than probably even he'd have thought possible, opening for Australia A against South Africa A in Brisbane last August.

Against an attack featuring Proteas ace Vernon Philander, Renshaw compiled a calm knock of 94 in the second innings, displaying a combination of patience and power that left onlookers suitably impressed.

Quick Single: Gifted Blue ready for a Baggy Green

A tall leftie who lists Alastair Cook as a batsman he'd like to emulate, Renshaw possesses patience in abundance.

And it's this trait that has so impressed national selectors, and left the young Bulls batsman furious with the manner in which he threw his wicket away in the first innings of that A clash four months ago.

Image Id: BD7DDD1A2FE348C1AC7DC294B46B773B Image Caption: Renshaw drives against South Africa A in July earlier this year // Getty

Having fought hard against a swinging pink ball at Allan Border Field to reach 25, he took the bait from spinner Dane Piedt and lashed out at a flighted delivery, managing only to spoon a catch to short third man.

Renshaw admonished himself upon his exit and promised to make amends second time around, a pledge he delivered on with aplomb.

"I was just happy I didn't throw it away like I did in the first innings," Renshaw told cricket.com.au at the time, shortly after his second innings that featured 14 boundaries and two sixes.

"(In the first innings) I got a good start and tried to go too hard too early. I was a bit more patient this innings and it paid off.

"I knew I was going to get another chance but it was hard in that first over – all the South Africans were chirping in my ear, saying 'when's he going to go?' and I was just waiting and waiting.

"I thought we went about it quite well – we waited until they got into their second and third spells."

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While the choice of Cook as a batsman to look up to might seem out of place for a member of the T20 generation, Renshaw has his reasons.

"Growing up I wasn't the biggest bloke so I couldn't really whack them like (David) Warner does," he said of the man he will open the batting with at the Adelaide Oval from Thursday.

"Watching (Cook) bat for 200 balls and scoring not many runs was a bit like watching me.

"His shots mightn't have been as good (as Warner and co) but the way he grinds and his mental approach is quite good to look up to."

Regardless of who has inspired him along the way, Renshaw has quickly forged his own reputation.

MEET AUSTRALIA'S FOUR NEW FACES

  • Matt Renshaw. 20. Left-hander, averages 41 from 11 first-class games with two centuries. Yorkshire-born, moved to New Zealand aged seven, then Australia age 11. Queensland's leading Sheffield Shield run-scorer last season.
  • Nic Maddinson. 24. Left-hander, averages 38 from 58 first-class games for NSW. Played two Twenty20 games for Australia in 2013. Has made two tons and an 86 in domestic cricket this season.
  • Peter Handscomb. 25. Right-handed Victorian averaging a tick over 40 from 61 first-class games, nine centuries. Son of British parents, holds a British passport but has been in Australia's system since under 19s.
  • Chadd Sayers. 29. Medium-fast bowler in the Alderman mould. Has taken 184 wickets at 23.80 in 46 first-class matches. Renowned for making the ball swing at Adelaide Oval.