When you need to go to the toilet, you got to go: Renshaw
Justifying his decision to retire ill following an upset stomach during Day 1 of the Pune Test, Australian opener Matt Renshaw said, "It came pretty suddenly...He (Smith) wasn't too thrilled about it but he understands that when you need to go to the toilet, you've got to go". "It wasn't an ideal scenario but it's life, pretty much," Renshaw added.
After drawing a lot of flak from former cricketers, Australia opener Matt Renshaw on Thursday finally gave his version of what really transpired on Day 1 of the Pune Test when he was seen leaving the field retired ill in the first session, just 15 minutes before the lunch break. (Scorecard)Renshaw was criticised by former Australia captains Allan Border and Michael Clarke for leaving mid-way through his innings and rushing off the field for a toilet break. Renshaw and David Warner were in the middle of a solid 82-run opening stand when the latter played on to a delivery from India pacer Umesh Yadav. (Bizarre scenes as Matt Renshaw leaves batting crease with upset stomach)As captain Steve Smith was coming on the field to take strike he saw Renshaw running towards the pavillion. The 20-year-old quickly explained to his captain that he needed to go to the toilet as he was suffering from a stomach bug. Umpire Nigel Llong then cleared Renshaw to retire ill so that he could go off the field unbeaten on 36. (Pune Test, Day 1: Starc defies India after Umesh grabs 4/32)The left-hander attended the press conference after the day's play where he revealed that his illness had struck suddenly 10-15 minutes before he was forced to bolt for the dressing room. (Ravindra Jadeja's obsession with opposition captains)"It came pretty suddenly," Renshaw said after play on Thursday. (What a cacth! Wriddhiman Saha flies to pull off a stunner)"Maybe five or 10 minutes before Davey (Warner) got out I asked Richard (Kettleborough, standing umpire) how long there was till lunch and he gave me the answer of 'half an hour' and I was struggling a bit then. It wasn't an ideal situation to be in." (India vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 1: As it happened)Naturally, Smith was bemused and lost. Renshaw had batted brilliantly up until that point, using his feet smartly against the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin, Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. (Dry pitch for Pune Test could play into Australia's hands: Shane Warne)"He (Smith) wasn't too thrilled about it but he understands that when you need to go to the toilet, you've got to go to the toilet," Renshaw said."It wasn't an ideal scenario but it's life, pretty much. Obviously we just lost a wicket so there would be two new batsmen out there but it's a hard scenario to be in and he understood. We've had a chat now and we're all good."Renshaw wasn't too sure about the rules and didn't know that he had to retire ill to go off the field in such a scenario."I wasn't too sure on the ruling," he explained. "I didn't know you could retire ill so I thought I just had to get out there and make sure I batted until lunch.