The man who helped transform Matthew Renshaw from a gun-shy opener into Australia’s three-pronged saviour has shed light on the winter revolution that kicked off his resurgence in the international arena.
Former Queensland Bulls batsman Wade Townsend has worked closely with Renshaw, having taken the state’s batting coaching duties when the towering left-hander was hunting a comeback.
Renshaw had been viewed as a top order specialist who could soak up time and grind together an innings, but the now 30-year-old needed to redefine himself.
While blessed with plenty of power from his long arms, he was yet to showcase his capacity to attack.
An off-season spent improving his fitness before honing his craft in the Northern Territory changed everything.
“He made some ... changes last winter which he really wants to own. I feel like his game had grown really quickly once he started to see the benefits,” Townsend said.
“He came back in really good shape so he could work hard at his batting, which he probably hadn’t had the chance to do in the years prior because he was always either in England or on tours.
“He pretty much went straight into an Australia A side and dominated up in Darwin in white-ball cricket up there, and I think those technical changes just brought growth and confidence to him right across the board.”
The Renshaw who struck 190 and 82 in Australia’s 214-run first Test win over South Africa last week is a very different proposition to the bright-eyed 20-year-old who debuted a decade ago.
After a strong start, including a ton in his fourth appearance, he began sliding down the pecking order.
Becoming a father, Townsend believed, played a major role in changing Renshaw’s thought process.
“Being so desperate to play for Australia when you’re in there so young, you want to hold on to what you’ve got. I think anyone who’s worked with Ren would watch six balls and go: ‘Oh my gosh, this guy is one of the most skilful people there is,’ ” he said.
“The skills, the power, were there and always was there, it was just bringing the confidence to be able to bring that out. It got to a point where I don’t think he ever lost belief he would get back into the Australian side, but it maybe just didn’t matter so much any more.
“It’s perspective. He’s a dad now and now knows that’s more important than anything. I think that’s played a big part in this journey for him, and it certainly helps him with the bad days as well, because no matter how well he’s going, there are a lot of those still.
“It brought out a mentality for him to be able to express himself a bit more.”
From that 2025 winter, the Renshaw of old was not so much cast aside as it was made to be more flexible.
He could still do a job slowly building into a knock against the new ball, but he had made technical tweaks that had allowed him to open the shoulders with confidence.
He had already shown “golden moments” of that potential with dominant one-day form for the Bulls and match-winning knocks for the Brisbane Heat (headlined by an unbeaten 90 against the Melbourne Stars in 2023).
But that Northern Territory series Townsend alluded to for Australia A against Sri Lanka catapulted Renshaw into the summer – scoring a century and two half-centuries for 248 runs across three games.
“It was more around his bat pace and how he was presenting to the ball, being able to bring both sides of the field into play. His strength was never going to go away, but it was about being able to manage his outside edge a little bit more,” Townsend said of Renshaw’s technical changes.
“He was trying to shape up to the ball a little bit straighter, which in turn was able to bring out a bit more of a game on the off side, but keep his leg-side game really strong.”
Last summer he struck three Sheffield Shield centuries from six appearances after his maiden ODI series against India, sealing his rise back to Australian consideration across all three formats.
“That’s probably the big key in his mentality and focus,” Townsend said. “It wasn’t away from red-ball cricket, but to become just the best batsman he could possibly across all three formats, and to try to develop and upskill his game, grow and bring shots into his game.
“I would say it was always there, it’s just the consistency piece that’s improved now. He’s on a path now where he’s a lot calmer in his life and at peace with a lot of things.”
Townsend and Renshaw share a unique piece of history, having struck triple-centuries for Toombul in the Queensland Premier competition. Renshaw’s 345 in 2018 surpassed Townsend’s then-record of 311, which the latter groans he is reminded of “almost daily”.
With debate around whether Renshaw’s future is as an opener or at No.5 – remaining in the latter for the second Test – Townsend does not believe he needs to be locked into one role.
“We talked about trying to make him a batting allrounder – which has nothing to do with bowling. It’s making him be so versatile he’s irresistible anywhere in the order.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.