Matt Renshaw’s return to Test cricket after a four-year hiatus has been anything but smooth after even his umbrella betrayed him as he waited to bat on day two at the SCG.
A Covid diagnosis after the teams were named meant that Renshaw had to spend his return Test isolating from his teammates, including spending the bulk of the match on the boundary rope in the elements as rain fell throughout the first few days in Sydney.
Renshaw was seen in a hoodie with a mask on during breaks in play and when he was padded up to bat on the sideline, an umbrella malfunction continued his luckless and eventful return to the Test arena.
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“Matthew Renshaw is back into the side after a long time away from Test cricket and he found out the morning of, that he was Covid positive,” Howard said on Fox Cricket.
“He was playing cards on his own. He was down here under the umbrella isolating and even that went wrong for him when it blew in the opposite direction.
“He has had an unusual lead-in to his next Test innings if he gets the opportunity.”
Kerry O’Keeffe joked Renshaw deserved a standing ovation just for batting after his tumultuous recall to the Test team in place of the injured Cameron Green.
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“If he gets double figures the crowd should give him a standing ovation,” O’Keeffe said.
“This has been a journey over the last two days for Matt Renshaw.
“Nothing is going right. He is Covid positive two days in a row. He plays solitaire by himself in a room. He wears a mask everywhere and his umbrella betrays him.”
Mark Howard was even concerned the umbrella may have caused an injury to Renshaw’s hand, which would have been a disaster ahead of his first bat for Australia since 2018.
“Four years since he has played Test cricket back in 2018 against South Africa on that ill-fated trip,” Howard said.
“And he is still waiting patiently on his own.
“Surely he didn’t hurt himself with his umbrella? That would be the final straw.”
Ian Smith believes Renshaw’s return is a remarkable story given everything he has had to overcome just to play his first Test in four years.
“How about a story of a bloke like Matt Renshaw,” Smith said.
“He comes into a Test match and gets his opportunity and gets Covid shortly after the team naming as such, so he can play.
“Then he has to sit outside with a hoodie on by himself waiting to bat in a Test match.”
Mark Waugh questioned what Renshaw would have to do out in the middle to keep his distance from his batting partner, when he finally gets to bat.
“He has had a lonely couple of days,” Waugh said.
“What happens in the middle with his partner? No mid wicket conferences? Just a few hand signals?”
Adding to Renshaw’s frustration was the fact Australia could declare their first innings before he gets a bat after two days of waiting, which would be the final insult in a tough comeback to Test cricket for the Queenslander.
