Matt Renshaw to fly to South Africa ahead of fourth Test
Queensland opener Matt Renshaw is set to fly to South Africa immediately after the conclusion of the Sheffield Shield final in Brisbane, which ends today. Renshaw, who is fifth on the chart of the leading run-getters in the competition, will leave for Johannesburg this evening before the fourth and final Test against South Africa begins on Friday.
The southpaw's urgent call-up comes following the suspension of captain Steven Smith from the next Test after public confessions of leading the ball-tampering scandal which saw Cameron Bancroft rub one side of the ball with a sandpaper during the third Test at Cape Town. With the ICC ruling Smith out of the Johannesburg Test besides docking his entire match fee and Bancroft escaping with a 75% fine and three demerit points, Australia have opted for a replacement despite having the likes of Peter Handscomb, who was the 12th man in the previous match, in the squad already.
Following the ICC rulings, a decision from Cricket Australia on the future of Smith, vice-captain David Warner and even coach Darren Lehmann, who, as per Smith, has no involvement with ball-tampering, is likely to be made soon.
Renshaw, who was dropped for the 2017-18 Ashes at home last summer, has shown tremendous form since the Shield resumed post the Christmas break. Ironically, Bancroft was chosen to replace Renshaw after the latter suffered a lean run of scores across Tests in India and Bangladesh before Australia's home season commenced.
More to follow..