Renshaw heeds white ball gains in breakthrough Test knock

It was fitting that Durban clouds parted for Matthew Renshaw's moment in the sun.

Almost a decade after his maiden century in Test cricket, Renshaw added a second on day two against South Africa at Kingsmead.

Unfazed by a sudden positional change revealed on match eve, the 30-year-old starred at No.5 to rescue Australia from a dicey position with a century built on patience and restraint.

You have to go back nine years, nine months and five days – or 3,567 days – for Renshaw's only other Test hundred – when a baby-faced 20-year-old tonned up against Pakistan in what was the Queenslander's fourth Test.

Renshaw celebrated his drought-breaking milestone with arms aloft and his trademark beaming smile.

Longest gap between men's Test centuries by Australians

 

Warren Bardsley: 13y 346d – 1912-1926

 

Bob Simpson: 10y 1d – 1968-1978

 

Matthew Renshaw: 9y 280d – 2017-2026

It was brought up with a perfectly-timed flick off his pads, which had been by far his most productive shot of the innings. But you could argue the balls he chose to not play a shot to were just as important.

Renshaw left 28 per cent of his deliveries. You have to go back to Nathan McSweeney in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to find an Australian innings with a higher leave percentage (minimum 100 balls faced).

Such was his commitment to a role of responsibility that he chastised himself at stumps on day one over a single false shot – a wild swing that he "thankfully played and missed".

Having opened in Australia's previous Test when he replaced Jake Weatherald against Bangladesh, he learned on the eve of the first Test against South Africa that he would be rather slotting in at No.5 as the recalled Nic Maddinson took his place at the top of the order.

And after a maiden ODI ton in the middle order against Zimbabwe last month, Renshaw said the changes he'd made to his white-ball game had improved his red-ball game too. 

"I had red-ball cricket on such a pedestal for a long time," Renshaw told the Unplayable Podcast on Thursday.

"And trying to get into that Australian team, I tried too hard. Whereas my white ball (game) was nice and relaxed. Just watch the ball, hit the ball.

"So, I'm trying to bring that into my red-ball game as well."

Although he added all of Australia's Test fixtures into he and wife Josie's shared calendar over winter, he admitted he thought his best chance of being in South Africa was as a reserve batter. 

It will now be some time before he finds himself out of this XI. 

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6:30pm AEDT (9:30am local)

Second Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm AEDT (10am local)

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa's first Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (second Test onwards), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster