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 bright Harare afternoon, the left-hander carved out a superb 109 and Nathan Ellis ripped through Zimbabwe with 5-31 as Australia opened their three-match ODI series with a 59-run win at Harare Sports Club.
It was far from a procession. It was a scrap, then a statement.
Marsh’s gamble pays off
Mitchell Marsh won the toss and did something captains often shy away from in Harare: he chose to bat.
The pitch can ease out under the sun, and the temptation is usually to chase. Marsh backed his line-up instead, and Australia’s 294 for 8 in 50 overs quickly made that call look bolder than it first appeared.
The start was scratchy. Zimbabwe’s 20-year-old left-armer Newman Nyamhuri, raw but rapid, kept asking questions and found enough movement to unsettle Australia’s top order. He would later finish with 5-62, only the second Zimbabwean to claim a five-wicket haul in an ODI against Australia, and the pick of the home attack.
But where others fiddled and prodded, Renshaw settled.
Renshaw owns the middle overs
Last seen raising an international bat for three figures in a Test against Pakistan in 2017, Renshaw walked in with a point to prove and plenty of time to do it.
He built his innings in layers. First came a nervy stand with Cooper Connolly, who survived a handful of chances before Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza finally bowled him for 51. That partnership steadied Australia after early wobbles and gave Renshaw the platform he craved.
Once set, he began to dictate. He worked the gaps, ran hard, and punished anything even slightly overpitched. The tempo shifted again when Alex Carey joined him. Their 72-run stand for the fifth wicket dragged Australia away from par and towards something more imposing.
Ollie Peake then arrived and kept the pressure on, adding 75 with Renshaw for the sixth wicket. By the time the opener departed for 109, Australia had a grip on the game and Zimbabwe were staring at a required rate nudging 6 an over — 5.90, to be exact — on a surface where strokeplay usually gets easier.
For a player who admitted he “didn’t think” he would play one-day cricket for Australia again, it was a striking reminder of his range. He batted like a man who understood this might be a second chance and refused to waste it.
Nyamhuri’s breakout, Zimbabwe’s chase
Nyamhuri refused to let the occasion swallow him. His 5-62 cut into Australia’s lower order and stopped the tourists from racing beyond 300. Each wicket was a jolt of energy for a crowd desperate for a scalp against one of the game’s heavyweights.
That energy carried into the chase, briefly.
Zimbabwe’s reply began badly. Four wickets tumbled in a hurry, the innings lurching before it had even settled. Australia’s seamers, led by Ellis, attacked the stumps and the hosts slipped into survival mode.
Then Craig Ervine and Raza dragged them back.
Their 98-run partnership was everything Zimbabwe needed: calm, composed, stubborn. Ervine nudged and steered, Raza picked his moments to counterpunch. As the pitch flattened and the ball softened, the equation began to look less daunting. The crowd sensed it. Australia did too.
Just as the chase seemed to gather momentum, Ellis returned.
Ellis slams the door
Ellis had already struck twice in his opening spell, but his second burst decided the contest. It took him three balls to rip out Ervine, clean bowled for 59, and puncture Zimbabwe’s resistance.
From there, the chase never truly recovered.
Raza, who had looked the one player capable of hauling Zimbabwe into a winning position, fell for 57, yorked by Spencer Johnson. With their captain gone and the rate climbing, the hosts slipped further behind the game.
Ellis cleaned up the tail with ruthless efficiency, completing his five-for in 9.1 overs and closing the innings at 235 in 45.1. Zimbabwe had shown spirit, but they never quite caught up with the asking rate that Renshaw and Australia’s middle order had imposed.
Series opens with questions and promise
Australia take a 1-0 lead and a heap of positives: a rejuvenated Renshaw, a clinical Ellis, and enough runs under pressure to justify Marsh’s decision to bat first.
Zimbabwe leave with a defeat, but also with Nyamhuri’s emergence and the Ervine–Raza stand as signs they can trouble this Australian side if they stitch together a full 100 overs.
The second ODI comes on Friday, the third on Sunday, both again in Harare. After that, Australia head south for another three-match series against South Africa.
If this was the tone-setter for their tour, the next question is obvious: can Zimbabwe turn promise into a punch that actually lands?
