Renshaw has scored 315 runs in four Tests, including a top score of 184, at an average of 63.00 © Getty Images
When Matthew Hayden was sweeping his way to a career-defining Test series in India, Matt Renshaw was four years old. Sixteen summers later, Renshaw is grooving a similar method to combat R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a tour that could secure his future in the Australian side for many years to come.
In keeping with the studious method he has employed to emerge as a highly promising Test-match opener, Renshaw spoke with Hayden more than once before his departure. At Australia’s training camp in Dubai, he has been working on making the most of his left-handedness and considerable reach by sweeping the spinners to distraction.
“I think the sweep will be a big one for me,” Renshaw said in Dubai. “I will just try to stay low and use my reach. As a tall bloke, I probably have got that advantage over some of the other guys.
“I can get to the turning balls faster than short guys without moving my feet too much, so I’ll try to use that as much to my advantage as possible.”
This planning began at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane before Renshaw’s departure, as he worked on spinning pitches in the nets alongside Steve O’Keefe and the former England spin bowler Monty Panesar. Hayden had sought out a similar environment in 2001 before flying to India.
Hayden’s broadest advice to Renshaw was to soak up as much knowledge from the trip that he could, both for use in the series but also for future assignments beyond.
Hayden was joint Man-of-the-Series on the 2000-01 tour of India, amassing 549 runs at an average of over 100 in three Tests Raveendran / © AFP
“I had a couple of conversations with him [Hayden] over the phone and he’s really good,” Renshaw said. “He has just told me to embrace it over there and get as much experience as I can. I’m 20 years old and going over to play in one of the hardest places in the world. So I will just try to embrace it and enjoy the challenge. You hear certain things from certain players but you never know until you get over there. So looking forward to the challenge.”
Other voices in Renshaw’s impressionable ears have included Australia’s batting coach Graeme Hick, who himself made a step forward in his own international career by making his first Test century in India in Mumbai in February 1993, amid an otherwise wretched tour for Graham Gooch’s Englishmen.
“Hicky has been really good just trying to get me to stay low and work on different things and keeping it as simple as possible. That’s a big one for me in any cricket really, just keep it simple,” Renshaw said. “It has been really good just trying to work on different plans, just trying to replicate what will happen over there with different plans and different tactics.”
As with Hayden and Hick, this will be Renshaw’s first experience of Test cricket in India. While there is some conjecture over whether Renshaw will make way for Shaun Marsh at the top of the order, the younger man is preparing to play – and that includes sparing a few thoughts for the threat of seam and swing in addition to spin.
“I love going over to different places and challenging myself and trying to learn different things,” he said. “I watched a bit of the England series and trying to work out what they were trying to do. But we seem to forget they’ve got quick bowlers as well and reverse swing will come into it as well.”
Australia play the first of the four Tests against India in Pune on February 23.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo