Australia drop Jake Weatherald as Matthew Renshaw recalled for Mackay Test

Australia have dropped opener Jake Weatherald and recalled Matthew Renshaw to their squad for the second and final Test against Bangladesh, with the match scheduled in Mackay on August 22.

Weatherald managed scores of 23 and a duck in the series opener and Australia were bowled out for 198 in their first innings, prompting the change at the top of the order. Renshaw returns to the Test setup for the first time in more than three years after last appearing in the format in Delhi in 2023; his most recent Test outing came as a concussion substitute for David Warner. Since that appearance the 30-year-old has remained part of Australia’s white-ball units, featuring in both ODI and T20I cricket. The selectors said the recall provides another option at the top after the batting unit struggled against Bangladesh in the opening match.

Australia’s squad retains Marnus Labuschagne despite his ongoing run drought, with the No. 3 scoring 31 in the second innings of the opening Test. Coach Andrew McDonald acknowledged Labuschagne’s need to produce bigger scores and indicated the coaching group is addressing that shortfall. The move to keep Labuschagne in the XI preserves continuity in the middle order while Renshaw is given a chance to bolster the top three.

McDonald said: "I think it was 31 he got in the second innings, and up until the point he got out, you'd sit there and say he was looking good," McDonald said. "He was moving well, he's clipping off his pads, he was getting back through the ball down the ground. So it's easy for me to sit here and try to defend that, but ultimately it's 31. It's not a big score. He's lacked runs. He feels that. We feel that. We're working incredibly hard as a coaching group," he added.

Australia will otherwise retain the core of the squad, with wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis and fast bowler Scott Boland continuing as reserve options. The full squad for the second Test was announced as: 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.

The second Test begins in Mackay on August 22, with Australia looking to respond after Bangladesh exposed weaknesses in their top order during the opening match.