Understanding Aus cricket\u2019s great enigma… and \u2018who am I?\u2019 moment that had to happen<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cYou generally roll with a prep game and some facilities whatever you have available and you go from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the guys have been playing in New Zealand for us. Some of the guys have come out from England but it\u2019s the way of the modern game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Has the Ashes squad come out too early? | 06:26<\/p>\n
England will take on an Australia team in Perth minus inspirational leader Pat Cummins but Trescothick doubted it would have an impact on the home team, or handed the tourists an advantage. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it will be any different in terms of our mantra and what our thinking will be,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe trust in ability and what we think we can do. Pat is a wonderful bowler and a great leader. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are still very pleased in how we are preparing \u2026 and very hopeful about what we could achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a sense of confidence in the English outfit under their own brave leader Ben Stokes, and that extends to the batting form of Root who os out to score an elusive hundred in Australia. <\/p>\n
Root, 34, has amassed 13543 Test runs, and 39 centuries and is the world\u2019s No.1 ranked Test batter.<\/p>\n
He scored three hundreds in his team\u2019s most recent series against India and it\u2019s that level of output which has Trescothick confident Root would make his breakthrough century this series, quite possibly his last tour of Australia. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the way he has gone in the last couple of years would explain that he\u2019d be very comfortable with what he\u2019s trying to do at the moment,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen Joe grow massively in the past three years under Brendon (Coach Brendon McCullum) and Ben (Stokes) and the style of play we have had. <\/p>\n
\u201cHis game has gone to the next level and you\u2019d be very surprised if he doesn\u2019t carry on in that same vein really with the style of player he is and the quality performer he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green makes all rounder case | 02:52<\/p>\n
\u2018I WAS ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE\u2019 <\/p>\n
Queensland opener Matthew Renshaw has confessed he was disappointed to miss selection for Australia\u2019s Ashes opener in Perth, but acknowledged he has handled the snub better than earlier in his career.<\/p>\n
Despite starting the season with a Sheffield Shield century in Brisbane and a trio of impressive performances in Australia\u2019s ODI team, the 29-year-old was not picked in Australia\u2019s 15-player squad for the first Test against England, with Tasmanian opener Jake Weathered earning a maiden call-up.<\/p>\n
Renshaw responded to the omission by cracking 101, his 25th first-class hundred, on day one of Queensland\u2019s red-ball clash against Western Australia at the WACA, steering the Bulls towards 6-323 at stumps after being asked to bat first.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, the left-hander recalled how poorly he reacted to being dropped from the Test side eight years ago, when he missed selection for the 2017\/18 Ashes and was replaced by Cameron Bancroft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a bit of disappointment straight away, but then you realise it\u2019s not the end of the world. You still get to come play some cricket over here (in Perth),\u201d Renshaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot different to the way I handled it eight years ago (when I was dropped). I was absolutely nowhere for a while.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to enjoy myself today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renshaw, the only Queensland player to score more than 50, was dismissed by West Australian seamer Cameron Gannon after gloving a pull shot through to wicketkeeper Josh Inglis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have liked to get a bigger one. 101 is a little bit disappointing for me,\u201d Renshaw confessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those ones where you want to try and get a big one when you get in.\u201d<\/p>\n
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 11: Matthew Renshaw of Queensland talks to the media following stumps on day one of the Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and Queensland at WACA, on November 11, 2025, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
CHAPPELL CALLS FOR SPECIALIST OPENER<\/p>\n
Australian cricket legend Greg Chappell has again urged selectors to back specialist opener Jake Weatherald in next week\u2019s first Ashes Test.<\/p>\n
Chappell recently referred to opening with traditional No.3 Marnus Labuschagne as \u201cextremely risky\u201d in his column for ESPN Cricinfo and doubled down on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Weatherald will face England alongside Usman Khawaja if the selectors opt to keep Labuschagne in his preferred position.<\/p>\n
Chappell said \u201cyou need to want to\u201d open and doubts whether greats like his brother Ian or Ricky Ponting would have been as good if they were ever elevated from No.3.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the powers that be know who their first-choice opener alongside Khawaja is because I think it\u2019s an important role, it always has been,\u201d Chappell said as Australia promoted the 150th anniversary Test in March 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecialists have generally done better than people who have been press-ganged into the role.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpening is a role I think you need to want to do and most openers are pretty passionate about getting in there and batting first.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a matter of, \u2018We\u2019ll pick our No.3 batsman to go and open\u2019 because Ian (Chappell) batted No.3 for Australia, Ricky Ponting batted No.3 for Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not sure they would\u2019ve been as good as openers because it probably wasn\u2019t their passion to open the batting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they make the right choice whatever they do. Whoever goes out there will be doing their best, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renshaw’s classy Shield ton turns heads! | 01:53<\/p>\n
When Weatherald was named in the 15-man squad for Perth, chief selector George Bailey repeatedly lauded the way the left-hander scored his runs.<\/p>\n
Weatherald made just 23 for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield on Monday but crunched five fours in his transient stay at the crease.<\/p>\n
Chappell, who played 87 Tests for Australia, said it was important to have a mix of styles at the top of the order.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you need a mix at that level, you don\u2019t want both players batting the same way, so that synergy between the openers is pretty important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing their role, if one is going well (then) the other is the support act on that particular day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, it\u2019s just a matter of whoever the two are who walk out there are on the same page and want to be there doing the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an interesting England attack. I think it\u2019s exciting to think we\u2019re going to see a real contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory tells us every series that has been won in Australia has been won by the best bowling, which has usually been fast bowling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Botham backs Poms’ pace attack v Aussies | 01:31<\/p>\n
BOTHAM BACKS WINDIES-LIKE ATTACK<\/p>\n
Cricket icon Sir Ian Botham says the all-out pace attack the West Indies deployed to strong effect in the 1980s should be the blueprint for England when the Ashes begins in Perth next week. <\/p>\n
The tourists have brought frontline quicks Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse to Australia in search of a first away series win in 15 years.<\/p>\n
Botham backed the plan to send fiery fast bowling the way of the Australians declaring no batters \u201clike it in the ribs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the West Indies did pretty well with four pace bowlers and had six waiting to get in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the right way, you want to be aggressive, you want to come through and players if they\u2019re not playing very well don\u2019t like it in the ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be interesting \u2026 I don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll be able to rattle them, a lot of these guys have been around a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a case of rattling them, it\u2019s a case of going out and trying to win and that\u2019s what they do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey lose a few, they win a few.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aussies give their opinion on Bazball | 07:55<\/p>\n
Botham threw his support around a lesser-known quick, as the likelihood of Wood and Archer getting through five Tests is increasingly low.<\/p>\n
He backed Carse to be the bowler who could impress in Australian conditions and step up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Carse might surprise a few of you,\u201d Botham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very aggressive bowler, he\u2019s got enough pace to make you hop around a bit and he can bat a bit \u2013 he\u2019s a good cricketer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is focused on Wood and Archer, but I think Carse will slide in quietly there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ashes begin in Perth on November 21, kickstarting a five-match series that finishes in Sydney in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick has defended the team\u2019s Ashes preparation amid severe criticism from several cricket greats…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[1724,64,63,689,19534,44210,161597,2129,161603,161604,18762,24162,161610,740,161607,161596,161598,1208,161595,161594,2057,161602,161605,44212,159647,24161,45900,24167,1209,44226,17066,24168,33831,161599,130021,69066,673,1736,3583,677,161600,139072,1948,46,701,161609,6417,161608,12540,146953,85,161601,670,11740,161606,161593,64414,3439],"class_list":{"0":"post-278799","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-asia","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","12":"tag-australian-conditions","13":"tag-australian-cricket-legend","14":"tag-batting-form","15":"tag-ben-stokes","16":"tag-bowling-prep","17":"tag-breakthrough-century","18":"tag-cameron-green","19":"tag-century-droughtcricket","20":"tag-class-games","21":"tag-cricket","22":"tag-cricket-greats-adamant","23":"tag-cricket-icon","24":"tag-divisive-preparation","25":"tag-england","26":"tag-england-assistant","27":"tag-english-cricket-commentator","28":"tag-europe","29":"tag-first-choice-opener","30":"tag-geoffrey-boycott","31":"tag-george-bailey","32":"tag-greg-chappell","33":"tag-gus-atkinson","34":"tag-home-team","35":"tag-ian-botham","36":"tag-india","37":"tag-jake-weatherald","38":"tag-joe-root","39":"tag-marcus-trescothick","40":"tag-mark-wood","41":"tag-matthew-potts","42":"tag-matthew-renshaw","43":"tag-modern-game","44":"tag-new-south-wales","45":"tag-new-zealand","46":"tag-northern-europe","47":"tag-oceania","48":"tag-pace-attack-v","49":"tag-pace-bowlers","50":"tag-pat-cummins","51":"tag-perth","52":"tag-queensland","53":"tag-real-contest","54":"tag-ricky-ponting","55":"tag-rounder-casecricket","56":"tag-southern-asia","57":"tag-specialist-opener","58":"tag-sports","59":"tag-squad-members","60":"tag-sydney","61":"tag-team-news","62":"tag-time-frames","63":"tag-transient-stay","64":"tag-tyler-lewis","65":"tag-western-australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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