Former Test opener left out of Queensland's squad for match against Tasmania in Brisbane this week
Renshaw axed for Sheffield Shield resumption
Less than two years after he opened the batting for Australia in Test cricket, Matthew Renshaw has been axed from Queensland's squad for the resumption of the Marsh Sheffield Shield this week.
Renshaw played 10 Tests in 2016-17, scoring 184 against Pakistan in Sydney, and was then recalled for the 2018 Johannesburg Test after incumbent openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned following the ball-tampering scandal.
But having gone 28 Shield innings since then without scoring a century, Renshaw has been dropped for Queensland's match against Tasmania, starting on Friday.
It is expected he will instead travel to Hobart to play for the Cricket Australia XI against the touring England Lions side this weekend.
It's a dramatic fall for the left-hander, who was touted as a long-term opening prospect when he debuted at the age of just 20 against South Africa in 2016.
Even after he was dropped just days out from the 2017-18 home Ashes series, he showed his wares in an impressive county stint with Somerset the following winter, scoring three hundreds in just six games to storm back into Test calculations.
He was picked for Australia's Test tour of the UAE in late 2018 but, having suffered a concussion during a tour match leading into the series, he hasn't been sighted at international level since.
He averaged 22 from nine Shield matches last summer and managed just 182 runs at 20 in the first half of this Shield campaign.
However, his dip in form against the red ball has not been mirrored in the shorter formats, where he's transformed himself into a handy middle-order player for both Queensland in one-day cricket and Brisbane Heat in the KFC BBL.
News Corp reported on Monday that he could seek an off-season Big Bash move to Adelaide to join the Strikers, although that has not been confirmed.
The Bulls, who sit third on the Shield ladder, have been able to call on Test incumbents Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Burns as well as skipper Usman Khawaja for the match against Tasmania at the Gabba, with rookie Bryce Street - Queensland's leading run-scorer so far this season - tipped to open the batting alongside Burns in Renshaw's absence.
Queensland squad: Usman Khawaja (c), Joe Burns, Cameron Gannon, Sam Heazlett, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney, Michael Neser, James Peirson, Bryce Street, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth