Last Updated on 1 minute ago by Charbel Coorey
Matt Renshaw has laid down a marker, scoring a superb hundred in the opening One Day International (ODI) against Zimbabwe in Harare. His 109 off 94 balls is his maiden ODI century, and came when Australia were in a tricky situation.
Renshaw walked to the crease following the wicket of Cooper Connolly, who made a fluent 51. Australia were tottering at 107/4 in the 18th over and needed a reguard action. Renshaw delivered.
He brought up his fifty in 55 balls. His improvement against spin was on show again, rotating strike nicely in the middle overs to give Australia a foothold in the contest. He was particularly strong on the sweep on both sides of the wicket.
Renshaw then upped the ante heading towards the 40th over, taking advantage of just the four fielders outside the circle. His next fifty came off just 31 balls to bring up a memorable moment.
And with it, the left-hander gone a long way to sealing a place in Australia’s first-choice ODI team ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Matt Renshaw’s maiden ODI ton is his first international century since 2017
Renshaw’s hundred in Harare is his first international hundred since his 184 against Pakistan in 2017. Incredibly, the gap of 3,542 days is the third-longest in men’s international cricket behind Johnson Charles and Bob Simpson, excluding the gaps caused due to the World Wars.
Also, his century in 86 balls is the fastest for Australia against Zimbabwe, beating Adam Gilchrist’s record of 89 in 2004.
Earlier, Mitch Marsh (36 off 28) and Cooper Connolly (51 off 46) looked good for bigger scores as Australia lost regular wickets. Renshaw combined with both Alex Carey and Oliver Peake for 70+ partnerships to take Australia to a competitive total of 294/8.
Newman Nyamhuri was the star for Zimbabwe, taking 5/62 to help keep Australia below 300.
