Past helping Renshaw stay focused in the present

The lessons from previous selection misfortune have helped Queensland batter Matt Renshaw adopt a philosophical approach to being overlooked for Australia's 15-man Ashes squad.

Fresh from making his one-day international debut, the 29-year-old was considered by many to be a contender to open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja in the first Test in Perth, only to miss out when the squad was announced last Wednesday.

Renshaw is no stranger to life on the selection roller coaster, having played 14 Tests across three different stints since his debut as a 20-year-old back in 2016.

That, coupled with several periods on the fringe of the Australian lineup, has helped shape his approach this time around, culminating in the perfect response – a century on the opening day of Queensland's Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia at the WACA Ground.

"Obviously there is a bit of disappointment straight away but then you realise that it's not the end of the world," Renshaw told reporters when quizzed about his non-selection.

"You still get to come and play some cricket over here.

"It's a lot different to the way that I handled it eight or nine years ago with the last one. I came out here and I was absolutely nowhere for a while.

"I just wanted to enjoy myself today. A little bit of enjoyment and intent was the way I wanted to go about things today and I felt like I did that."

But don't mistake a philosophical mindset for a lack of hunger. Renshaw was dismissed for 101, caught behind off the bowling of Cameron Gannon after a 198-ball stay.

"I would have liked to get a bigger one. 101 is a little bit disappointing for me," he admitted.

"It's one of those ones, you want to try and get a big one when you get in because you know those days are tough when you're not scoring runs.

"It was tough but I wanted to try and do as well as I could to get a decent first innings score after losing the toss."

Renshaw held Queensland's innings together, receiving fine support from Marnus Labuschagne (50) and Lachlan Hearne (48no), combining to steer their side to 6-323 at the close.

"It has probably moved on a little bit quicker in that last session than I thought it would," Renshaw continued.

"The guys coming down the order, they hit the ball hard and hit into some gaps which was nice.

"Obviously you want to try and score as many runs as you can in that first innings and give our bowlers something to bowl at and give them a bit more of a rest as well."

Cameron Gannon (4-54) was the pick of the home side's bowlers, but it was another 'Cameron G' from the west – Cameron Green – who had Renshaw talking.

Green (1-13) bowled his first eight overs in a competitive match since the first week of October as he pushes his case for selection against England in the first Test on November 21.

"He got me there (on the arm), needed some ice spray," Renshaw laughed afterwards.

"He was bowling quick, he was nipping around. The wicket he got was a beautiful ball. It's good to see him back bowling, as a friend and someone who loves Australian cricket.

"If he's going well, it's great for cricket but hopefully not too well when he's playing against us."

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1.30pm AEDT

Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3.30pm AEDT

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 11am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood