Renshaw hails Khawaja influence for Test recall

Matthew Renshaw feels his growth as a person will leave him well placed to thrive during his third coming as a Test cricketer – and he has Usman Khawaja to thank for his recall.

Renshaw received his first call-up to an Australian red-ball squad since 2018 when the forgotten opener was named on Friday for the third Test against South Africa.

The 26-year-old is one of two additions to the 14-man squad for the New Year's Test at the SCG, with spin-bowling allrounder Ashton Agar also back in favour after injuries to star quick Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.

Renshaw last played a Test in March 2018 when he and Joe Burns were rushed from Queensland's Sheffield Shield title-winning celebrations to South Africa after Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were stood down amid the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.

Renshaw had previously notched 10 Tests across 2016-17 before being dropped for Bancroft ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes as a result of poor Shield form.

The left-hander failed to retain his Cricket Australia contract in 2019-20, and he hit a new low when he was dropped from Queensland's Shield side in 2020.

Some technical improvements helped Renshaw regain his spot in the Bulls' line-up.

But it was a mental shift that played an even bigger role in Renshaw's rise back to Test ranks.

"A lot of it is mental," Renshaw said of his improvement as a cricketer.

"A lot of work away from Queensland cricket, away from the Brisbane Heat, away from Australian cricket, just doing some of my own stuff, which has really helped me.

"I just sort of grounded myself. As a 20-year-old, I still wasn't sure who I was at that point.

"I was trying to be someone else, trying to be what people wanted me to be.

"So just making sure I be myself has seemed to have worked in the last few years."

Good friend and Queensland teammate Khawaja has also played a key role in Renshaw's resurgence.

"He's someone I'm quite close to," Renshaw said.

"I call him my life coach. He hasn't accepted the role, but unfortunately for him it's not a role that you can accept – it's just given to you. 

"He knows me quite well, he knows when I'm up or down, and knows when I need to be checked in line as well."

Unlikely to play against the Proteas in the third NRMA Insurance Test at the SCG, starting on January 4, with Marcus Harris already in the squad as a back-up opener, Renshaw's inclusion could be a hint to what selectors have in mind for February's tour of India.

Renshaw featured in all four Tests the last time Australia toured India back in 2017.

Agar is a more realistic option to play on an expected spin-friendly pitch at the SCG.

The left-arm spinner could slot in at No.7 and leave wicketkeeper Alex Carey, fresh off a maiden Test century, to be promoted up the order.

"I often bat seven for WA. I've batted six for WA and made a hundred there before," Agar said this week.

"It's a really important spot and I like that feeling of having a real pride on your wicket. It really switches you on and with that extra little bit of hype with it being a Test match and against an extremely good bowling attack, there is a lot of responsibility there."

Selection in Sydney would be a first Test on home soil for Agar, and reprise his partnership with Nathan Lyon last seen in Bangladesh in 2017.

"We're very different bowlers, I probably rely a lot more on variations and changes of pace where Gazza (Lyon) has the best off-break in the world, it's amazing how many revs he puts on the ball and his ability to hit one spot on the wicket is remarkable" Agar said.

"That is bloody hard to do, so for me bowling with him is not trying to bowl like him, it's trying to complement him and work as a partnership, but we have to do that in our own ways if that opportunity was to arise.

"It certainly helps me enjoy my bowling a lot more, I don't like trying to bowl six dot balls in a row — I actually find that not overly exciting... I've never really bowled that way over my career.

"I obviously still want to play Test cricket. I have played a lot of white-ball cricket recently and after having played a Shield and the Prime Minster's XI game, you sort of forget how long you enjoy the longer form of the game. I hadn't played it in so long."

Experienced quick Josh Hazlewood will almost certainly end a three-Test absence and return to the XI after recovering from a side-strain injury suffered against the West Indies in Perth earlier this month.

West Australian speed machine Lance Morris, who has been dubbed the new "Wild Thing", has retained his spot in the squad and could make his Test debut.

Despite both players finishing the Boxing Day Test, Starc and Green will now recuperate as they aim to get themselves right for India.

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa

First Test: Australia won by six wickets

Second Test: Australia won by an innings and 182 runs

Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, David Warner

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo

Buy #AUSvSA Test tickets here