Matt Renshaw’s deep form trough is due to the exposure of a major flaw in his technique – he struggles badly against right-arm pace from around the wicket.
This is a massive concern for the 21-year-old, and for the Australian team, given England’s opening bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad are highly skilled from around the wicket.
What’s more, in Test cricket, Anderson averages 20 against left-handers and Broad averages 25, with a major factor in this success being the mastery they display when bowling around the wicket.
Renshaw’s early success in Test cricket was built on his ability to leave the ball efficiently, particularly against right-arm quicks bowling over the wicket and slanting deliveries across him.
This is the preferred angle for most right-arm paceman against left-handers and one which the Queenslander reads extremely well, continually shouldering arms to deliveries passing outside his off stump, whether by a slim or wide margin.
In doing so, he frustrates opening bowlers, who do not want to waste the new ball by having the batsmen leave most deliveries. Often these bowlers lose patience, straighten their line to target the stumps and, in doing so, start straying occasionally on to Renshaw’s pads.
This is exactly what the rookie Test opener wants, as the flick through square leg is his comfort shot until he is well settled. So right-arm paceman stopped using this angle against Renshaw, realising that his judgment of line was far less accurate when they came around the wicket.
AAP Image/David Moir
Against this line, Renshaw’s discipline in leaving the ball evaporates and he frequently gets drawn into sparring at deliveries well outside off stump, which he easily could ignore. He also tends to close off his front leg, which means that when bowlers do give him a delivery on the stumps, he is forced to reach around that front pad.
The Indian quicks were the first to fully exploit this weakness, during Australia’s four Tests on the subcontinent earlier this year. Early in that series, the Indians targeted Renshaw with spin, assuming that he would labour against their slow bowlers on dry pitches, like most Aussie batsmen.
When Renshaw prospered against their tweakers, making 68, 31 and 60 in his first three innings, India changed tack and went after him with their right-arm quicks, who bowled mostly from around the wicket. It worked a treat, with Renshaw being dismissed by pace in each of his next five innings, while making just 73 runs at 15.
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The first of those dismissals saw Renshaw play a half-hearted prod at a delivery from Ishant Sharma that would have missed his off stump by at least 30 centimetres. The delivery angled in, straightened off the pitch, kissed Renshaw’s outside edge, and landed in the gloves of Wriddhiman Saha.
Things got even uglier in Renshaw’s next dig, the first innings of the third Test in Ranchi. From around the wicket, Umesh Yadav bowled a rank, wide ball, which landed on a good length about 60 centimetres outside off stump. Renshaw – with his front foot planted on the line of middle stump – leaned out and hacked at the delivery, sending an edge to first slip to complete an embarrassing dismissal.
In the second innings, Ishant again from around the wicket got the old ball to tail back in, Renshaw missing it by a generous margin to be caught plumb in front.
By this point, it was clear that Renshaw had a major issue against this angle, and Australian domestic bowlers took notice, targeting him from around the wicket so far this Sheffield Shield season.
Even on familiar home pitches, Renshaw has been unable to find a solution to this technical problem, failing five straight times in the Shield. Across his past 14 first-class innings, Renshaw has averaged just 15. In his favour, he has at least managed to do an okay job of shielding his Queensland teammates from the new ball by batting for an average of 55 deliveries across his five knocks.
But that task will be more difficult against Broad and Anderson, who have the experience, accuracy and guile to torment Renshaw with new or old ball.
The young Australian faces an enormous challenge to prosper in the Ashes.
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
In that case Renshaw should be dropped and Bancroft should open with Warner but not as a wicket-keeper. Nevill should keep and Lehmann should fill-up the No.6 spot.
Don Freo
Guest
Agree with that. Too many jobs for work that doesn't have to be done. They have to interfere because workplace PI demand they can demonstrate achievement. That has seen the introduction of the word, "Managed".
Rellum
Roar Guru
No, I am talking about the whole system/pipeline which has been stuffed around with by Chappell, Howard and even Kountouris. The standard of the Shield is lower now than it was twenty years ago, and if we keep going the same will happen again. You are right that the fast bowling stocks are the current jewel in our limited crown, but that is because it is much easier to scout junior fast bowlers with potential. As you point out it is the batting that we are struggling with, and I would argue the keeping as well. There are a lot of decent keepers, but no outstanding ones. Those are skill positions that the junior talent scouts are just taking punts on and those punts will either pan out or not. Most likely not with the dominate or wither system we used to have from grade to Test cricket now reduced to u19 selectio - CAXI -one day team then Tests. They keep having to revert back to the Shield because the "potential " picks don't pan out and the old system which is still sort of in place comes to the rescue.
Don Freo
Guest
Stand on the correct side of the bat and the flaw goes away.
Don Freo
Guest
Oh no. I think we have a great flow of youth moving into first class cricket. The bowlers we know about. Keepers too (some of our young keepers are going to demand selection and we'll only have one spot). We just need to get rid of the dead wood. If Ryan Carters hadn't retired due to lack of opportunity, he'd probably be Test keeper now. His sledging would be too intellectual for the Poms to understand. The batsman are really what you are talking about.. In recent years, young batsmen (who usually take 2 or 3 years to raise everybody's heads) include, Renshaw, Heazlett, Labuschagne (Qld), No one except, maybe, Ryan Gibson and Jason Sangha (NSW), Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Marcus Harris and Seb Gotch (Vic), Jake Doran and Ben McDermott (Tas), Jake Weatherald, Travis Head (SA) and Bancroft, Whiteman, Cartwright and Bosisto (WA). Mitch Marsh, Jack Wildermuth, Arjun Nair, Ashton Agar, Tom Rogers, Cameron Green and Jhye Richardson provide a wealth of young all rounders. Cricket has rarely been healthier.
Don Freo
Guest
Sprucey, Matthew is right here. Hindsight is where we work those things out. I love the ability of coaches and captains and particularly that brightest of all beings, the fast bowler, to be able to work these things out. The analysts in the press follow but that's their role. They'd be coaching for much more money than they'd get writing if they could do it sooner.
Don Freo
Guest
I wonder why Howard was watching. What does he know about batting? Surely he should be working on the fitness support for Behrendorff, Stanlake, NCN, Paris, Agar, SOK, Whiteman, Lynn, Holland. Maybe he is taking credit for Renshaw's current "performance".
Don Freo
Guest
I'm expecting S Marsh to be in the squad. Another strong innings in the context of a strangely behaving pitch today. 15 wickets on a crumbling pitch and Shaun stood up...again. The only thing possibly working against him is that he has no CA contract, suggesting they (read G Chappell) might have drawn a line under him. BTW. Can anyone imagine Trevor Hohns telling Greg Chappell, "You're wrong"?
Don Freo
Guest
Nothing wrong with the claims of Shaun Marsh. His form is compelling.
Don Freo
Guest
Wade is another example...and Mitch Marsh (but Mitch muddied the waters by bowling better than even he knew he could).
Philby Kim
Guest
Why no mention of Jake Weatherald? From the first three Shield games he is 7th on average and 4th on overall runs in the country with still some batting to do on Thursday in Perth. Moreover, against the NSW test attack, he top scored in both innings and scored a third of SA's runs in both innings. He would surely score more runs than Renshaw at the moment ( 42nd on runs and 54th on average this Shield season). This would allow Bancroft to play down the order as a keeper and still leave a space for another batsmen, be that Maxi, Hughes, Harris, Lehmann or whoever. The selectors really have a crucial decision to make regarding Bancroft. Let him open and we solve the opening spot but more likely than not slam the door on him keeping. Now, on the other hand, if you let him keep, something which he has been doing basically all his life, then you add a huge presence at number 7 or 6 (my preference) which would anchor the middle/lower order for years to come.
DavSA
Guest
imo Rellum a review of structures may be a good thing.
Rellum
Roar Guru
SA are a good chance to snatch a win tomorrow.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Our system is in many ways broken, or a hodge podge. We move from one mediocre players to the next because our system is not producing great players in groups anymore.
Rellum
Roar Guru
A very disappointing loss by QLD. The bowlers did their job but the batsmen let us down again, and their meant to be our strength,
DavSA
Guest
Matt I have been saying this here for some time now. Aussie cricket does not suffer from a lack of player resources but an embarrassment of riches. Whereas countries with more limited talent available simply have to nurture best they can with what they have ..South Africa and New Zealand come to mind ...Australia simply moves on to the next in line.
Matt P
Roar Rookie
I agree. Problem is we have a tendency to immediately consign blokes back to Shield cricket for the rest of their careers at the first sign of trouble, while we try out the next new brilliant thing time and time again. Of course, this is what got Renshaw the gig in the first place, so...
Pope Paul VII
Guest
It's a genetic flaw and we lefties are very proud of it.
DavSA
Guest
Hi Ronan , how Renshaw resolves this will define his future as a cricketer. Either he meets the challenge head on or he will be consigned to Shield cricket forever. Technical flaws mostly can be fixed . When Hashim Amla first came on the scene he went into a crouch and stepped across his stumps at delivery time. Bowlers quickly picked up to bowl straight at middle stump and an LBW was never far away.He worked really hard for a long time to eliminate it and the runs began to flow. Interestingly whenever he has a form slump he tends to revert to the old bad habits. But back to Renshaw and assuming you are correct in your analysis then I would not choose him for the Ashes and let him resolve those issues in a less pressured environment .He is young enough with time on his hands . There is a real risk of destroying a potentially great career before it has hardly even begun.
matth
Guest
If you do that, I'd play Cartwright at 3