Big picture – Can Bangladesh pull off another heist?
It was the consistency in line and length, and killer instinct with the ball, and oodles of patience with the bat that got them to the finish line in Darwin. The fast bowlers took all ten wickets in Australia’s first innings before the batters put up a performance to remember – England fans would have wondered why their boys couldn’t bat the same way in the last Ashes.
Australia: LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WLWWW
In the spotlight: Travis Head and Hasan Mahmud
It is hard to find a bowler in Test cricket’s annals who has taken a five-wicket haul in Australia, India and Pakistan in his first two (calendar) years in Test cricket – Hasan Mahmud is one of three, with Wesley Hall and Andy Roberts the others. His nine-for in Darwin equalled the Bangladesh record for most wickets in an overseas match and showed that he can plan a wicket. Bangladesh will need another big effort from Mahmud in Mackay, and if he can do a repeat, his Test career might be going places.
Team news: Bangladesh have injury concerns
Renshaw will take Weatherald’s place at the top, Pat Cummins confirmed on match eve.
Australia: 1 Travis Head, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Hasan Mahmud, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Taijul Islam/Shoriful Islam, 11 Ebadot Hossain
Batters enjoyed perfect conditions in the last international match, an ODI, held in Mackay last year: Australia racked up 431 for 2 batting first against South Africa, who were beaten by 276 runs. Now Mackay makes its Test debut, and not much has changed going by the look of the pitch in the lead-up to the game. Only five first-class games have been held at this venue over the years, so there’s not much to look at there. What we do know is that the strong south-easterly breeze from the ocean nearby usually has a say in proceedings, and that the temperatures are far more comfortable than in Darwin.
