Wade Townsend, the former Queensland Bulls batsman who took over the state's batting coaching duties as Renshaw hunted a return to the Australian side, has detailed the 2025 winter overhaul that sparked the 30-year-old's resurgence.
"He came back in really good shape so he could work hard at his batting, which he probably hadn't had the chance to do in the years prior because he was always either in England or on tours," Townsend said.
Renshaw, who debuted a decade ago and scored a century in his fourth Test before sliding down the pecking order, struck 190 and 82 in Australia's 214-run first Test win over South Africa last week.
Townsend said technical tweaks centred on bat pace and how Renshaw presented to the ball, shaping up straighter to bring the off side into play while keeping his leg-side game strong. An Australia A series in Darwin against Sri Lanka, where he made a century and two half-centuries for 248 runs across three games, catapulted him into the summer.
Last season he posted three Sheffield Shield centuries from six appearances after his maiden ODI series against India, cementing his claim across all three formats.
Becoming a father also changed his mindset, Townsend said.
"It's perspective. He's a dad now and now knows that's more important than anything," he said. "It brought out a mentality for him to be able to express himself a bit more."
Townsend, who still gets reminded "almost daily" that Renshaw's 345 for Toombul in 2018 surpassed his own record 311, said the goal was to make the batsman so versatile he was irresistible anywhere in the order. Renshaw is expected to remain at No. 5 for the second Test.
"We talked about trying to make him a batting allrounder, which has nothing to do with bowling," Townsend said. "It's making him be so versatile he's irresistible anywhere in the order."