Test twist: Renshaw in frame for batting switch

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Test twist: Renshaw in frame for batting switch

By Andrew Wu

Joe Burns has the inside running for Australia's vacant opener's berth for the first Test against Sri Lanka, with selectors open to a left-field strategy of playing Matthew Renshaw in the middle order.

The conventional view is that the Queensland pair are vying for the one spot in a so-called "bat-off" this week with young gun Will Pucovski a lock to debut. But it is understood that at this stage Burns is the preferred candidate to partner Marcus Harris at the top of the order.

Batting hopes: Matthew Renshaw (left) and Joe Burns are in contention for returns to the Test side next week.

Batting hopes: Matthew Renshaw (left) and Joe Burns are in contention for returns to the Test side next week.Credit: AAP

This would leave youngsters Renshaw and Pucovski in a tussle for a position in the middle order in the day/night Test at the Gabba next week.

The batting order for the Cricket Australia XI has not been finalised but captain Burns has confirmed he and Renshaw will open in the three-day pink ball tour game against Sri Lanka starting in Hobart on Thursday.

Pucovski is likely to slot in at number five behind Marnus Labuschagne and NSW's Kurtis Patterson, who is not in the Test squad.

There's plenty of times selectors make really good calls and they don't get credit for it.

Joe Burns

Usman Khawaja replaced Aaron Finch in the Sydney Test but will slide back to his customary position at three if a specialist opener is picked for the Gabba, with Labuschagne believed to have done enough at the SCG to keep his place, although he could drop down to four.

Burns is one of the best performed batsmen in the Shield in recent years and although he has not scored a ton this season he has made four half-centuries and is averaging 47.

His record is vastly superior to that of Renshaw, who is averaging 19.9 after struggling to cope with the pressure of having a Test recall on the line.

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Playing a specialist opener like Renshaw lower in the order may seem a bizarre ploy, particularly after the failed move of middle-order batsman Aaron Finch to the top, but it is commonly accepted it is easier to move down the order than up.

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Michael Hussey played most of his Test cricket from four to six but spent a large portion of his state career opening the batting.

There is nothing and everything to play for in Hobart. The fly-in-fly-out match does not have first-class status and is essentially just a warm-up for the world No.6 leading into the two-Test series. But there are Test places and potential Ashes tickets on the line.

A century could provide the opportunity to resurrect Test careers or, in Pucovski's case, start one.

"The nature of the squad suggests that's probably the case. I don't think any of the batters are thinking like that," Burns said.

"We're pretty much set on our batting order. I know the selectors want to see guys in certain positions. We've got an eye going forward to the Test series as well."

Burns said he did not see Renshaw differently to any other teammate despite both being openers who have been on the fringes of the Test side.

"Hopefully, we both get the opportunity," said Burns, who was dramatically recalled with Renshaw for the fourth Test in South Africa in the aftermath of the ball-tampering controversy.

"I've never seen myself as competing with Renners, it's a matter of how we can get the job done for Queensland."

Burns threw his support behind embattled selectors, who have been accused by players on the outer for poor communication of decisions.

Burns said selectors needed to make "judgment calls", even if it meant overlooking players with better numbers.

"There's plenty of times selectors make really good calls and they don't get credit for it," Burns said.

"It's just the way the game is these days. With the three formats, players coming in and out of competitions all around the world, it's really hard to throw a blanket over a group of players and compare them all evenly.

"You have to make judgment calls. If you're playing all three forms for Australia, you're only playing one or two Shield games. That's the reality of modern cricket and one of the challenges of selection."

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