Renshaw's Maiden ODI Ton and Ellis's Five-for Lead Australia to Victory
Matt Renshaw waited seven years for another international hundred. When it finally came, it arrived in a format he had almost written off.
On a sun-baked afternoon at Harare Sports Club, the 28-year-old fashioned a calm, commanding 109 to set up Australia’s 59‑run win over Zimbabwe in the first ODI, before Nathan Ellis ripped through the hosts with a clinical five-wicket haul.
Australia’s 294 for 8 always felt like a score with teeth. Zimbabwe fought, threatened, and briefly believed, but were bowled out for 235 in 45.1 overs, never quite able to keep up with the asking rate.
Renshaw seizes his second chance
Mitchell Marsh’s decision to bat first raised eyebrows. Harare often eases out for batting as the day wears on, and captains usually prefer to chase there. Marsh backed his batters instead.
Renshaw rewarded him.
The left-hander, whose last international century came in a Test against Pakistan in 2017, played like a man who knew how rare these chances can be. He absorbed early pressure, watched partners come and go, and then quietly took control of the innings.
Australia’s top order flickered rather than burned, leaving Renshaw and Cooper Connolly to rebuild. Connolly, still feeling his way at this level, survived a couple of let-offs but added important tempo before Sikandar Raza finally knocked him over for 51. By then, the visitors had a platform.
Renshaw turned that platform into something far more substantial. He stitched together a 72‑run stand with Alex Carey for the fifth wicket, then 75 with Ollie Peake for the sixth, nudging, driving and occasionally lifting the ball over the infield as Zimbabwe’s attack began to fray.
By the time he departed for 109, Australia had pushed the required rate for Zimbabwe up to 5.90 an over. On this surface, against this attack, it was more than competitive; it was pressure.
Renshaw knew exactly what the day meant.
“I didn’t think I was going to play one-day cricket [for Australia],” he admitted afterwards. “Playing any cricket for Australia is awesome. I’m taking it seriously, obviously, but also trying to enjoy it. I know that I play my best when I’m relaxed. Whatever happens, happens.”
Relaxed or not, this was a statement innings from a player many had quietly filed under “Test hopeful, white-ball long shot.” Not anymore.
Nyamhuri’s breakout spell
Zimbabwe, though, unearthed a bright spot of their own.
Newman Nyamhuri, the 20‑year‑old left-arm quick, refused to be overawed by the occasion or the opposition. He kept coming, ball after ball, and finished with 5 for 62 – only the second Zimbabwe bowler ever to take a five‑wicket haul in an ODI against Australia.
His spell prevented Australia from charging well past 300 and gave the hosts something to cling to at the break. On another day, with a deeper batting performance behind him, Nyamhuri’s figures would have been the story.
Instead, they became a footnote to Renshaw’s return and Ellis’s ruthlessness.
Ellis slams the door
Zimbabwe’s chase began in chaos. Four wickets tumbled quickly, the innings lurching before it had even settled. The required rate crept up; the crowd quietened.
Then Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza dragged the contest back to life.
Their 98‑run stand steadied the dressing room and stirred the home supporters. Ervine, all timing and touch, moved to 59. Sikandar, as so often, played the dual role of stabiliser and aggressor, working the gaps, punishing anything loose, and reaching 57. On a pitch that traditionally gets better for batting, belief started to grow.
Just as the tension began to tilt, Ellis returned.
The right-armer had already taken two wickets in his first spell, hitting a nagging length and refusing to offer freebies. When Marsh threw him the ball again, Ellis needed only three deliveries to rip out Ervine, clean bowled for 59. Any thought of a smooth chase evaporated.
From there, Zimbabwe’s innings lost its shape. The pressure that Ervine and Sikandar had just begun to ease came roaring back. Spencer Johnson produced the decisive blow to the heart of the chase, spearing in a yorker that flattened Sikandar’s stumps on 57 and left Zimbabwe well short of where they needed to be.
Ellis then tidied up the tail, finishing with 5 for 31 from 9.1 overs – figures that underlined his growing reputation as a dependable, incisive option in Australia’s white-ball armoury.
Zimbabwe’s resistance ended on 235. Respectable. Never truly threatening.
Series opens with clear intent
Australia now lead the three‑match series 1-0, and they did it with a blend of old narratives rewritten and new ones emerging: Renshaw proving he belongs in the ODI arena, Ellis tightening his grip on a spot in the attack, Nyamhuri announcing himself against elite opposition.
The teams go again in Harare on Friday, then Sunday, before Australia head south for another three-match assignment against neighbours South Africa.
If this was a tune-up, it carried a clear message: places are up for grabs, and those who get a chance had better grab it as hard as Matt Renshaw and Nathan Ellis just did.
