Matt Renshaw

From being picked for Test cricket at the age of 20, Matt Renshaw's career has taken an interesting journey over the next decade.

An opening batter of long-form temperament, Renshaw was called into Australia's Test squad in late 2016 after a host of players were dropped following the defeat against South Africa in Hobart. He scored an impressive 71 against Pakistan at the Gabba in his second Test, and then at the SCG in his fourth Test batted throughout the first day to score his maiden Test century. He was eventually out for 184 - the highest Test score for Australia by a player so young.

Like David Warner, Renshaw's initial Test call-up came after limited first-class experience - Warner had played 11 games, Renshaw 12 - but Australia's selectors had already liked what they had seen. At 19, Renshaw had become the youngest man to score a Sheffield Shield century for Queensland when he displayed his patience by compiling 170 in 395 balls on a slow, challenging pitch in Mackay. That 2015-16 campaign proved to be a breakout season with Renshaw Queensland's leading Shield run scorer with 738 at 43.41.

But his progression stalled after the early success. After half-centuries in his first two Tests on the 2017 tour of India, he failed to reach 50 in his next four Tests in India and Bangladesh and only passed 20 three times. Ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes series he failed to reach 20 in eight Sheffield Shield innings and was replaced in the Test team by Cameron Bancroft. He responded strongly and he finished the Shield season as the leading scorer with 804 runs and was recalled to the Test team in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal for the Johannesburg Test then secured a Cricket Australia contract.

He looked set to be Australia's long-term opener with Warner and Bancroft banned after scoring three centuries in a six-game stint for Somerset in the 2018. However, he fell out of favour ahead of the first Test tour of the UAE. After suffering a head knock fielding in the warm-up game, he was not selected for the Test matches despite being declared fit to play. He was recalled to an extended revamped Test squad for the home Sri Lanka series in early 2019 but was overlooked for the vacant opening spot and then lost his contract.

He spent a period batting in the middle order for Queensland before returning to the top, although his return to the Australia side in 2023 came in the middle. He struggled in India but retained his place in the squad for 2023 Ashes tour before drifting down the pecking order again. In the meantime, however, his white-ball game was evolving, especially in the middle order for Brisbane Heat, and in 2025 it was in limited-overs cricket that he was recalled to the Australia side. He was a last-minute addition to the 2026 T20 World Cup squad where he was a positive in a dismal campaign.

In the same 2025-26 season, he averaged close to fifty in the Shield with three centuries and though that wasn't enough for that summer's Ashes, a recall came against Bangladesh.

The holder of a British passport, Renshaw was born in Yorkshire, moved with his family to New Zealand at seven, and then to Australia at age 10.
Cricinfo staff