MACKAY, Australia – In the wake of a stunning, historic defeat to Bangladesh in the opening Test of their two-match series, Australia’s men’s cricket selectors have made a targeted shakeup to their batting lineup, dropping opening batter Jake Weatherald and bringing back experienced left-hander Matt Renshaw to shore up the team’s inconsistent top order ahead of the second Test starting Saturday in Mackay, northern Queensland.
Announced on Tuesday, Australia’s 13-man squad for the crucial series-leveling match features just one change from the group that fell to a nine-wicket defeat in Darwin over the weekend. All-rounder Beau Webster and star batter Marnus Labuschagne retain their places in the squad, despite growing fan and pundit concern over Labuschagne’s recent dip in form – the elite batter scored only 1 run in the first innings and 31 in the second in Darwin.
Weatherald, the 28-year-old opening batter who earned his recall to the Test side earlier this year, failed to convert opportunities in the opening match. He notched 23 runs in Australia’s first trip to the crease, but was dismissed for a duck in the second innings as Bangladesh chased down a modest target to secure their first ever Test win on Australian soil. Across his 12 Test innings to date, Weatherald has maintained a batting average of just 20.36, a stat that ultimately cost him his spot in the starting XI conversation.
The 30-year-old Renshaw, who is now set to partner incumbent opener Travis Head at the top of the order if selected, is making his third return to Australia’s Test setup after first making his international debut in 2016. Dropped from the side in 2018 following a two-year run in the squad, Renshaw earned a short-term recall for three Test matches in 2023 but has only featured in Australia’s shorter-format international fixtures since that stint. Across 14 career Test matches, Renshaw holds a batting average of 29.31, including one century, though only one of his most recent 10 Test appearances has come on home Australian soil.
The historic upset victory in Darwin has sent ripples through Australian cricket, putting significant public pressure on national selectors to implement broader squad changes. But selectors opted for a single adjustment to the lineup, retaining most of the core squad that took the field in the opening match.
For Bangladesh, the win marked a landmark moment for the nation’s cricket program, with star performers Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Tanzid Hasan leveraging Darwin’s sticky, tropical conditions to outplay the heavily favored Australian side. The achievement was celebrated across Bangladesh, with the entire touring squad receiving a personal congratulatory video call from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to honor the historic win.
Full Australia 13-man squad for the second Test: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.