Matt Renshaw returns as Australia confirm squad for second Bangladesh Test

MACKAY: Australia have made one change to their squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, with Jake Weatherald dropped and Matt Renshaw called up in his place.

The 13-player squad remains otherwise unchanged following Australia’s heavy defeat in the opening Test in Darwin.

Weatherald managed scores of 23 and 0 in the first Test, taking his tally to 224 runs at an average of 20.36 across six matches. He had featured throughout last season’s Ashes campaign and had worked on a technical adjustment during an off-season stint in county cricket.

However, the opener struggled to settle in either innings against Bangladesh. He edged a drive off Hasan Mahmud on the opening day before dragging the same bowler onto his stumps in the second innings.

Cricket Australia confirmed Weatherald’s omission in a brief statement, although the original squad had been announced to cover both Tests of the series.

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald had previously highlighted the changes Weatherald had made to his technique.

“Yeah, there was some change to Jake in terms of where he lined up and his movement patterns,” McDonald said after the opening Test.

“It’s always hard to critique small sample sizes, whether it holds up. Drag one on, drove one in the first innings and was dismissed. So it’s probably harder with that smaller sample size to say, yep, that’s going to hold up under pressure.”

Weatherald, who received a central contract earlier this year, had acknowledged before the Bangladesh series that he needed to score runs despite expecting to have an opportunity across both Tests.

“You are required to make runs all the time. I’ve got a good opportunity to play two games, hopefully, and make runs, get four innings to do that,” he had said. “If I don’t do that then I put fate in someone else’s hands.”

Renshaw is now in line to make his 15th Test appearance and his first since 2023. He had been on standby for the series after training with the squad in Brisbane.

The left-handed batter enjoyed a strong Sheffield Shield campaign last season, averaging 49.90 with three centuries. He has also impressed since returning to Australia’s white-ball set-up and was a late addition to the T20 World Cup squad earlier this year after replacing Matt Short.

Renshaw averages 29.31 in Test cricket, with his highest score of 184 coming against Pakistan in 2017.

His inclusion means Australia will have used seven different opening combinations since David Warner’s retirement in early 2024, apart from established opener Usman Khawaja before his final series against England.

Travis Head has retained the opening role following his success in the Ashes, having moved to the top of the order after Khawaja was injured in Perth. Steven Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne and Weatherald have also been tried in the role.

Labuschagne is another batter under pressure after scoring 1 and 31 in the opening Test. He missed a full delivery from Taijul Islam after getting set in the second innings but has retained his place in the squad for Mackay.

The selectors have opted against bringing in younger batters such as Ollie Peake or Campbell Kellaway, despite former Australia captain Ricky Ponting backing that approach.

Josh Inglis remains the reserve batter after serving as the spare batter in Darwin, although he is considered an unlikely option to bat in the top three. Scott Boland continues as the reserve fast bowler and is likely to come into contention only if one of the frontline quicks is rotated.

Josh Hazlewood claimed seven wickets in the first Test, while Australia are expected to require a frontline spinner in Mackay.

Australia squad for second Test against Bangladesh

Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis and Scott Boland.