Renshaw bracing for Barmy Army banter

English-born Australian Test opener Matt Renshaw is expecting to be the target of sledges from opposition players and fans in his first Ashes series.

Australian batsman Matt Renshaw

Australia opener Matt Renshaw is looking forward to his first Ashes Test series. (AAP)

Matt Renshaw is anticipating to be sledged by the Barmy Army and his childhood mate Joe Root as the Australian Test opener prepares to face his birth country for the first time.

The 21-year-old, who has worn the baggy green 10 times since his debut last year, says it would be a "dream come true" to play in the Ashes.

But it wasn't until he moved to Brisbane as a 10-year-old that he started dreaming of representing Australia.

Born in Yorkshire, Renshaw played cricket with Root when he was younger and admits the England captain has plenty of dirt on him that will resurface come the series opener at the Gabba on November 23.

"I used to cry when I got out and he's probably going to pull that one out maybe, I'm not sure," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"It'll be interesting to see.

"I've got a few family friends coming out for the Ashes ... it'd be nice to play in front of them.

"It's probably a little more (special) playing against my birth country but it'd be great to beat them, wouldn't it?"

Asked if he intended to catch up with Root in a social setting during the Ashes, Renshaw said: "Hopefully I can catch him a couple of times at first slip.

"He's a very good player and hopefully we can get him out quite quickly early on.

"He's one of the best four batsmen in the world at the moment, so we've just got to treat him like any other batsman and try and get him out cheaply.

"They'll probably be doing the same with Smithy."

Renshaw expects to be the target of plenty of banter from the Barmy Army, and they may have a few bonus voices courtesy of his teammates at the Toombul District Cricket Club in Brisbane.

"They said they were going to join in the songs with them as soon as they learned them," he said.

"It's going to be interesting having the Barmy Army out and the boys down at third man.

"It'll be great, I'll probably try and learn them as well."


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world