Australia have ended the long test exiles of batter Matthew Renshaw and spinner Ashton Agar by selecting them for next week’s third Test against South Africa.
Injuries to Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green forced two changes to the team that won the second test at the MCG to clinch the series.
With a second spinner always likely to be selected for the turning SCG pitch, Agar was selected to support Nathan Lyon and take Starc’s spot in the attack while Renshaw shores up the batting order in Green’s absence.
Matthew Renshaw has been recalled into the Australia Test squad for the New Year’s Day Test
Glenn Maxwell or Mitch Marsh would ordinarily have been options to replace Green as all-rounders, but both are injured.
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 rushed to South Africa after Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were stood down following the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
He had previously notched 10 Tests across 2016-17 before being dropped for Bancroft ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes as a result of poor Sheffield Shield form.
Renshaw (right) played 10 Tests for Australia but his last appearance came in 2018
The left-hander has regained his place in the Queensland side after being dropped in 2020
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.
Renshaw has turned heads in the Big Bash League for the Brisbane Heat this season
‘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.’
Ashton Agar (right) returns to Australia’s test team for the first time since 2017 to replace the injured Mitchell Starc and give the hosts a twin-spin attack on the turning SCG wicket.
Starc faces a race against time to be ready for the Test series in India in February after suffering tendon damage to his left middle finger during the Boxing Day Test
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.’
Agar made his Test debut for Australia during the 2013 Ashes, making 98 at Trent Bridge
Unlikely to play against the Proteas in the SCG Test, starting on January 4, 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 has had to wait just as long for a recall, having not played at test level since 2017 – four years after his memorable debut when he scored 98 against England when batting at No.11.
The orthodox left-arm off-spinner provides a point of difference to right-arm Lyon, and has been favoured ahead of Mitchell Swepson, with the trio giving Australia options for the upcoming series in India.
Cameron Green is also sidelined with a broken finger after her retired hurt on nine as he was struck by a delivery from Anrich Nortje
Agar is a more realistic option to play on an expected spin-friendly pitch at the SCG and could slot in at No.7 and leave wicketkeeper Alex Carey, fresh off a maiden Test century, to be promoted up the order.
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.
