Australia’s new Test opener, Steve Smith, has been formally confirmed by selectors chairman George Bailey. Smith has been selected to bat first even though Matt Renshaw was chosen by the selection panel to take David Warner’s spot in the Test squad for the match against the West Indies.
Renshaw will therefore only be used as a reserve batter going forward, since Bailey also revealed that Cameron Green will be starting in the starting lineup. With a stellar record at No. 4 in first-class cricket, the all-rounder is expected to bat in the same position in Test matches as well.
Smith had recently stated that he wanted to climb the ranking after Warner’s retirement, even though he was averaging over 60 at No. 3 and No. 4. Smith had support from players like teammate Marnus Labuschagne and former captain Michael Clarke, despite the fact that captain Pat Cummins wasn’t in favor of changing the batting order.
“Steve’s obviously motivated and energized and keen to do it,” Bailey stated. Many members of the crew were willing to publicly state that they were not enthusiastic about doing it. Thus, it was encouraging that Steve had expressed his desire for it and that we had been discussing it as a selection panel in the background with the coaches.
“It’s selfless that someone who’s had such success in one position or a couple of positions in the middle order that he’s open and willing and hungry to go and have a crack at something new and something different, which provides that opportunity to slot Cam into a position where he’s had so much success at first-class level and we think ultimately, is a great spot for him to be in the Test team.”
Despite requests from certain quarters for Cameron Bancroft to be chosen as Warner’s replacement following his dominance in the Sheffield Shield run charts, the selection panel chose Renshaw’s versatility, having batted in multiple positions during his first-class career. In a recent tour match, he amassed an undefeated 136 against Pakistan as well. His final international match was in India for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“I think ultimately you can mount statistically some strong cases for a number of players,” Bailey said. According to the panel, Matt Renshaw is our second greatest batter as of right now. We’ve gone back around eighteen months, and if you consider every first-class match over that period, I believe those individuals have participated in Shield matches, some county matches, some Australia A matches, and PM’s XI matches. Over that time, Matthew has participated in a few Test matches in Australia and India, and his statistics are among the best of anyone.”
In addition to Renshaw, Australia’s 13-man roster for the opening Test matchup against the West Indies in Adelaide will include Scott Boland. Boland was just cleared to play in the BBL ahead of the Test match against Pakistan in Sydney.
Team for first Test– Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.
