Opener Matthew Renshaw has hailed his good friend, left-handed batter Usman Khawaja's influence which has now led to him gaining a recall into the Australian Test team for the upcoming Sydney Test against South Africa starting from January 4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Renshaw received his first call-up to the Australian Test squad since 2018 when he was named in the team for the third Test against South Africa alongside left-arm spin all-rounder Ashton Agar in place of injured duo Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Renshaw last played a Test match for Australia in March 2018 when he and Joe Burns were rushed from Sheffield Shield title-winning celebrations Queensland's play in Johannesburg Test after Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned following the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He's someone I'm quite close to. 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," Renshaw was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With Marcus Harris already in the Australia Test squad as a backup opener, Renshaw could slot in the middle-order and add to his 11 appearances in the longest format if the team management doesn't get a second spinner in Agar to partner alongside premier off-spinner Nathan Lyon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Renshaw's resurgence story is an interesting one, especially after the left-handed batter failed to retain his Cricket Australia contract in 2019\/20. He would hit a new low when he was dropped from Queensland's Shield side in 2020. It needed a mental and technical shift to get back into the red-ball scheme of things at the state level and eventually, the Australian team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"A lot of it is mental. 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."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Renshaw's resurgence story is an interesting one, especially after the left-handed batter failed to retain his Cricket Australia contract in 2019\/20. He would hit a new low when he was dropped from Queensland's Shield side in 2020. It needed a mental and technical shift to get back into the red-ball scheme of things at the state level and eventually, the Australian team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n