(Reporter:)
Matt, the loss of the first goals, was it such a difference in the game in the end? We saw Zimbabwe lose just two and then lose four at the end of this power play, was that the main difference?
(Matt Renshaw:)
Yeah, it’s probably pretty hard to chase 170 out there. They played really well early on, took a couple of early goals and felt like every time we built some momentum, obviously the partnership with Maxim was important, but they just couldn’t get enough momentum there for us to catch up and it was too much to knock over.
(Reporter:)
Team performance aside, you see two World Cup games, two strong performances, you have to love your time out there.
(Matt Renshaw:)
Yeah, I think it’s just different roles for me. Was batting 4 the other day, was 6 today, probably would have been on 7 if Stoin hadn’t hit. I think it’s just playing out the script. I’ve obviously been there twice before. He learned a lot from Pakistan in those three T20s. I know we didn’t perform very well, but we learned a lot in these conditions. So when I was able to come in today, take my time early, not feel like there’s pressure to score, still get rid of some boundaries and today was probably a little bit different than yesterday. The second day was probably a little more spin, a little more rotation. So today was just trying to put us in a position to win the game and unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
(Reporter:)
Australia are dealing with a few more injuries, so how did that affect this result?
(Matt Renshaw:)
Probably Marcus Stoinis was going to bat higher, he got that shot on the finger, we don’t know how bad it is, I’m sure the medical staff will treat it, but yeah, it was today, but yeah, we just weren’t good enough today. They bowled really well, batted really well, got 170 on the board, had wickets in hand to run at the end and took early wickets. So in T20 it’s always tough when that happens.
(Reporter:)
2007 T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe beat Australia by five wickets. The first buzz of that first T20 World Cup. No same teams, same action. What is the reason Australia beat Zimbabwe again and are upset?
(Matt Renshaw:)
I think it was 18 years ago. I was 11 so I wasn’t close to the team at the moment. But it’s just cricket, like T20 World Cups, T20 cricket in general, people can have a day out. I don’t think the gap is as big as everyone says. Yes, there is a difference in ratings, but T20 cricket, someone can have a great day, someone can get a couple of early wickets and it just changes. So I think that’s just the nature of T20 cricket and they played really well. I don’t remember watching that one in 2007, but they probably played well that day too. So they’re a good team, they’ve got a lot of good players, you saw they were missing their captain today and they still played really well, so they’ve got a great cricket team.
(Reporter:)
Matt, as you say, in T20 cricket it’s quite a small reserve, would it be really nice to have a bowler in the squad to replace Josh Hazlewood to pick from for this match? Did it ultimately affect the outcome?
(Matt Renshaw:)
I think not. I think the bowlers in the group that are here are pretty good. You have seen them play so many times in world cricket. Sometimes they just don’t get goals, the ball lands in the gap. But yes, I support our bowling group. I guess we should have pushed it away. I don’t think it’s the bowling group that should take the blame today. But yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s out of my grade, that selection decision. I just found out I was here last week, so I’m just pumped to be here.
(Reporter:)
Matt, a lot of moving parts at the start of the tournament, Mitch obviously missing the first two games, Stoinis injury today, has that disrupted the batting line-up much?
(Matt Renshaw:)
No, I don’t think so. I think our batting line-up is so fluid with different options where we’re all a bit in Big Bash cricket, very apt to go to different places in the middle. So yeah, obviously having Mitch out is a big loss and not sure when he’ll be back, but yeah, he’s obviously a big inclusion to open the bat, which will get someone else to open the bat, so it’s just the differences in where people are going to be. But in terms of fluidity, I think we are all quite capable of handling and maneuvering in different conditions. And yes, unfortunately we lost wickets at the wrong time today.
(Reporter:)
The tournament, if you look at the way the tournament is fed, there was a threat of them beating the bigger teams and it didn’t happen, but then it happened today – Zimbabwe versus Australia, the question is if you guys are talking about you guys, you don’t want to be the first team to lose where you are overwhelming favorites and as you said in the T20 game, it’s about the big moments and Zimbabwe was better today.
(Matt Renshaw:)
No, you never talk about wanting to lose a game with someone. So, yeah, I think obviously if you look at our group, we’ve got Zimbabwe and Ireland, two really good sides. They play a lot of T20 cricket. I think I saw one of the bowlers take 100 international T20 wickets today. They play a lot of T20 cricket They play against others, they get different conditions So probably for us we just want to try and do what we do best and play well and yes it was a loss today unfortunately for us But yes you don’t really talk about other teams losing. And you just try to play your best game of cricket.
(Reporter:)
During that 70-odd partnership between you and Max, it looked like Australia might get over the line. Do you think this is the kind of surface where you need to show off the application rather than the sheen?
(Matt Renshaw:)
Yes, I think so. I think it’s clearly time to catch fire in T20 cricket. It’s also a bit different today with the dimensions of the ground, one short end with some wind, one big end. So I tried to focus on different possibilities. But yeah, for us it was talking about rebuilding after that break to six overs, rebuilding, trying to go back to seven, eight overs with still really good intent, hitting the gaps. And then hopefully we were at a stage where we could try and still be in touch with the game and score some quick runs at the end and it wasn’t with the wickets we kept losing.
(Reporter:)
Australia is coming off a month of Big Bash and you are every player has been playing T20 cricket for a long time. So it’s not like it has anything to do with this Aussie team’s inability to play long wickets on a low slope or anything like that.
(Matt Renshaw:)
I think that’s just the nature of cricket. A team from the subcontinent will come to Australia and not complain about bounce or pace. Such is cricket today. You need to be able to pass through different surfaces. Yes, wickets in Australia during the Big Bash are quite true – they bounce a lot. You go to India and if there are other wickets on the other side of the tournament, you probably have higher scores, shorter boundaries. The boundaries here are quite big so it’s just cricket. We’re going to change our Big Bash to accommodate the possibility of playing in the subcontinent because it’s just not going to work for anyone. But yeah, I guess it’s just trying to adjust the conditions as best as possible so that when we get into those conditions, we know what the game plan is, we know how we fit best.