Border on Renshaw’s retirement : I hope he is lying on table half-dead

In the 28th over of the innings, Matt Renshaw ran to the dressing room after suffering from a stomach upset just seconds after his opening partner David Warner was dismissed by Umesh Yadav. He returned to the crease after Australia lost their third wicket in Peter Handscomb to rejoin his captain Steven Smith in the middle.

However, former Australian skipper Allan Border was not impressed by Renshaw’s disappearing act. Speaking at the lunch-time show of Fox Sports, Border said, “I hope he is lying on the table in there half-dead. Otherwise, as captain, I would not be happy.

I hope he is lying on the table in there half-dead. Otherwise, as captain, I would not be happy.

Border

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. He’s obviously just got an upset stomach to some degree and he was probably trying to use the situation where David Warner had just been dismissed to race off the ground and go to the toilet.

“I can tell you what, if Shaun Marsh was dismissed in those last 15 minutes, I would’ve been ropeable as captain.”

This is not the first instance where Border has not shown sympathy towards a player’s physical trouble. Almost three decades ago, he questioned Dean Jones’ fitness during the famous tied Test at Chennai when the Australian batsman struggled to cope with the soaring temperatures. He told Jones, who scored a double century, “You weak Victorian. I want a tough Australian out there. I want a Queenslander.”

Ironically, Renshaw is a Queenslander.