Renshaw’s fresh take on Test bid

Queensland opener Matthew Renshaw has a new outlook on national selection after the devastation of missing out on last year's Ashes series on home soil.

Renshaw was the Australia's incumbent opener with 10 matches under his belt heading into the JLT Sheffield Shield season last summer, but a horrid run of form and the intense scrutiny on his spot saw him struggle for runs and ultimately lose his place to Cameron Bancroft. 

"I was putting a lot of pressure on myself last year and trying to score runs and finding ways to get out," Renshaw said on the latest episode of The Unplayable Podcast.  

"This year I'm just trying to enjoy my cricket and when I do get an opportunity to score some runs, whether that be in club cricket or for Queensland, it's really to take that and really enjoy it and practice making hundreds.

"It's something that you get into a routine in doing. You see a lot of people score back-to-back hundreds. 

"I think getting in the routine of scoring hundreds is a really important for us batters."

Renshaw was in that routine in the second half of the Shield summer last year, scoring three hundreds in the space of five innings before making a rapid 81no in the Shield final win over Tasmania. 

Before he could celebrate the Shield triumph, Renshaw was on a plane to South Africa for the final Test in Johannesburg as Bancroft's replacement following the events of the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. 

While a jet-lagged Renshaw made scores of eight and five at The Wanderers, his good form followed him to England where he once again replaced Bancroft at Somerset.

The left-hander returned to his routine of scoring hundreds with another three centuries in eight innings for Somerset before a thumb injury curtailed his time in the County Championship.

A hamstring injury and concussion cruelled his chances of captialising on that supreme form for Australia and Australia A, losing his place in both sides to Bulls teammate Marnus Labuschagne which has him outside the Test team again at the start of the summer. 

But this season he's comfortable where he stands and knows what he has to do to don the Baggy Green against India in Adelaide from December 6. 

"Hopefully I'll go alright, it just depends on what the coaches and selectors want," Renshaw said when asked what his chances of Test recall look like. 

"Hopefully try and score enough runs to demand selection but if not it's just one of those things with cricket. 

"I've come a long way mentally in the last year after missing out on the Ashes and selection. 

"It's not the be-all and end-all of cricket but you obviously want to get selected for every Test."

Renshaw will have not greater chance to showcase his wares against a star-studded NSW Blues attack in Queensland's Shield match in Canberra starting Friday. 

A big score against Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon would do Renshaw's chances of a Test return a world of good, and he's not expecting any favours against his former teammates. 

"I imagine there will be a few short balls in there, especially against me because they like to take the mickey out of me," he said.

"You always want to be performing against the best and if the Bulls can get a win against them it proves we can probably beat any side. 

"Hopefully we can try and get a good game over there and scores some runs and take some wickets."