5 players who can make it to the Australian Test side

Australian Test team continued its slump into the ICC rankings. They slipped to the fifth position after a 1-0 series defeat to Pakistan recently in the United Arab Emirates. The result would’ve been worse if not for their heroic effort to play out 140 overs in the series opener.

Their biggest disappointment has been their batting, especially the middle order, which has collapsed far too often in a dramatic fashion. With their batting titans Steve Smith and David Warner set to miss out the cricketing action at least for a span of six more months, Australia faces a daunting task to avoid a series defeat in their home soil against India in December and against Sri Lanka in late January.

We take a look at some of the players who can be thrown into the mix to bolster the middle-order ahead of their home season:

1. Matt Renshaw

In the absence of Usman Khawaja, who may undergo surgery owing to a meniscal tear, Matt Renshaw remains the front-runner to open the innings along with Aaron Finch. Matt Renshaw made his debut in November 2016 and since then has found himself in and out of the side. He was nothing less than impressive in India last year. His sound technique against spin made sure that the bowlers had to earn his wicket everytime the left-hander came out to bat.

The series against India and Sri Lanka could be Renshaw’s breakthrough series as an opening batsman and his best chance to seal a spot at the top of the order. In 11 tests, he has mustered 636 runs at a decent average of 33.47 with a solitary century and three half-centuries.