Matthew Renshaw has given his Ashes hopes a boost with yet another big score for Australia A in its tour match against New Zealand A in Lincoln.
Renshaw followed up his first-innings knock of 112 with a quick-fire 78 off 72 balls as the visitors declared at 2-218 in their second dig.
It set the Kiwis a victory target of 365, and they went to stumps on day three at 0-31, needing a further 334 runs to win.
Openers Henry Cooper, unbeaten on 18, and Sean Solia (13no) will resume on Tuesday.
Renshaw’s big knocks come at a perfect time for him given the question marks surrounding David Warner’s Test future.
Warner’s lean run with the bat in the Test arena over the past 12 months means he’s no certainty to be picked for the World Test Championship final against India at The Oval in June, or the ensuing Ashes series in England.
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Renshaw played the most recent of his 14 Tests in India earlier this year, posting scores of zero, two and two in his only three knocks of the series before being dropped.
Despite those failures, the 27-year-old remains in the Ashes mix, and his form at Bert Sutcliffe Oval south-west of Christchurch will further strengthen his chances.
“You just see the class of the player he is,” Australia A paceman Wes Agar said of Renshaw.
“You see the experience he has, and he brings it out there.
“He looks so calm at the crease, which is so funny because it’s a bit different to what he is off the field.
“He’s a person that loves to be bubbly, that loves to be the life of the party around the group.
“When he’s out there he’s just so calm and composed and mature as a player, and it’s really cool to see him doing so well and see him grow.”
Renshaw cracked 11 fours and two sixes in the second innings as Australia A ramped up the run-rate in a bid to give themselves enough time to bowl out the hosts for a second time.
Australia A made 6-370 declared in its first innings, and it rolled the New Zealanders for 224 courtesy of big displays from pace duo Spencer Johnson (4-53) and Agar (4-56).
“We’re great mates off the field, and it’s a really cool thing to be able to tour with someone you’re so close to,” Agar said of bowling with Johnson.
“To be here and performing is a really special thing. And it’s cool to have someone with pace, with aggression.
“It makes my job a lot easier to be able to bash away on the wicket when you’ve got someone at the other end who is whizzing around the ears at the high 140s.”
-AAP
