With an unbroken 136 against Pakistan on Friday, Matt Renshaw reminded the Australian selectors just in time that he is eligible to take David Warner’s place when the veteran departs from Test cricket.
Matt Renshaw, who is 27 years old, took the Prime Minister’s XI back to work on day three. On 18 balls, he progressively reached his century.
With captain Shan Masood‘s 201 not out, the national side managed to reach 367-4 at Canberra’s stumps, 24 runs behind Pakistan, who declared at 391-9.
The four-day match at Manuka Oval is being billed as a “bat-off” to replace the opening Warner, with Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft also competing.
Warner has stated that he plans to retire from the longer format after the third Test match against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January.
Although Harris and Bancroft were selected to bat first before Renshaw, they failed to score significantly, going out for 49 and 53, respectively.
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Renshaw, who has represented Australia in 14 Test matches over the past seven years, takes advantage of his position at number three, hitting eight fours and a six.
Before wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed caught him, all-rounder Cameron Green, who is competing for a spot in the Test team, scored 46 runs off of Faheem Ashraf.
The captain, Nathan McSweeney, was gone for forty, and Beau Webster was still in at twenty-one.
Pakistan’s captain also hits a century in warm-up.
Prior to their three-test series against Australia, newly chosen Pakistan captain Shan Masood scored an undefeated 156 during a practice session on Wednesday in Canberra.
After winning the toss, he decided to bat against a Prime Minister’s XI and arrived at the crease after opener Imam-ul-Haq was out for nine.
Masood batted for the rest of the day, striking 13 fours and a six to help Pakistan win the opening day of the four-day match, 324-6 at stumps.
Sarfaraz Ahmed scored 41, and star batsman Babar Azam scored 40. Azam resigned as captain of the side following their disastrous one-day World Cup.
Australia’s bowlers battled at Manuka Oval on a level pitch, with pacemaker Jordan Buckingham leading the way with 3-63.
Mitchell Marsh has kept all-rounder Cameron Green out of the Test squad, but he did not bend his arm.
Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft—three of Australia’s future Test openers—had a hard day on the pitch. After the Pakistan series, Warner will retire from the longer format, and these guys are vying for his spot.
The visitors will play three Test matches in Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney against Australia starting on December 14.
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