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Bangladesh XI
Bangladesh have also made one change with rangy left-armer Shoriful Islam replacing Ebadot Hossain in the attack.
The XI selected will go in full of confidence, as skipper Shanto explained earlier this week. “When you score against this kind of team, it gives you a lot of confidence going forward when we play in these kind of conditions or against this kind of bowling attack.”
Shadman, Tanzid, Mominul, Shanto (c), Mushfiqur, Litton, Mehidy, Hasan, Taijul, Taskin, Shoriful.
Australia XI
Matt Renshaw is confirmed as the seventh opener auditioning to fill the void left by David Warner’s retirement in January 2024.
There was also serious consideration given to selecting Scott Boland ahead of Nathan Lyon. Had that occurred it would have been the first time in over a decade that Lyon had missed out in a red (not pink) ball match in Australia, and goes to show how the GOAT is no longer guaranteed a default spot in the Australian XI.
However, had Boland been selected it would have given Cummins six front-line seamers to choose from, including the two allrounders, which seems a very un-Australian way to pick a team and testament to the imperfect nature of this squad.
Head, Renshaw, Labuschagne, Smith, Green, Carey, Webster, Cummins (c), Starc, Lyon, Hazlewood
Australia win the toss and will bowl first
Pat Cummins won the toss, and in line with prematch discussions, reckons the pitch will offer the most with the new ball on day one, then flatten out and be ideal for batting on days two and three. He will hope his pace attack can exploit the extra bounce in the surface from the off and catch Bangladesh cold.
The pitch is expected to offer more bounce than Darwin, which will suit the extra height and pace in Australia’s attack, and provide the kind of challenge visiting batters often struggle to adapt to.
Groundsman Peter Kazakoff has noted “similarities” to the Gabba, a comparison Steve Smith also made after spending some time in the practise nets.
Bangladesh captain Shanto was unfazed by the possibility of a less favourable surface. “We have different plans. We are not going to play every single Test match in the same way. We try to adjust to the conditions. We try to focus on how they’re going to attack us, and prepare that way. We play differently in the subcontinent. Sometimes it depends on the conditions, the surface, and the bowling attack. So for the last Test match, the plan was that we need to be patient enough. We are not the most experienced side, so sometimes we just have to be patient.”
The weather forecast indicates we are in for up-to five days of glorious Queensland sunshine, with temperatures hovering around the mid-20s.
Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons has done a monumental job with this team, especially on the mental side of Test cricket. After convincing his side they could compete with Australia in Darwin his task is now to keep his players on task in Mackay.
“It’s a proud moment for all of the players – even ex-cricketers from Bangladesh. But it’s done; I think It’s gone. We need to play five days of good cricket again. This is a very important Test match for us to do well against this bowling and batting attack. We did a great job but we need to focus on this Test match and we have very much prepared ourselves for the last couple of days.”
Today marks the Test debut of the Queensland coastal town of Mackay, joining 11 previous men’s Test venues in Australia. Mackay is on the border of central and northern Queensland, and overlooks the Coral Sea.
The town’s sporting precinct was originally christened Harrup Park, with the cricket oval named in honour of long-time adminitsrator Ray Mitchell. However, since 2018 it has taken on the far more exotic title of the Great Barrier Reef Arena.
The maiden first-class match was played in 1995, but the second didn’t arrive for another 20 years. On that occasion New South Wales defeated Queensland in the Sheffield Shield but remains notable today for the match’s top scorer, young Bulls opener Matt Renshaw, who struck 170.
Geoff Lemon
Sport coverage is powered by hyperbole and recency bias, but the following statement is justifiable: Bangladesh’s defeat of Australia in Darwin is the most profound upset, the greatest revolt against the pre-game odds, in international cricket history. Australia’s win in England in 1882 so shocked locals that they published a cremation-themed obituary, but the same result had already happened four times on the other side of the world. Zimbabwe stunned India in 1998, but that was at least in the underdogs’ home conditions.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Welcome to live OBO coverage of the second Test between Australia and Bangladesh from the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. Play begins at 10am AEST.
As Australian sporting attention remains trained on the winter football codes the men’s cricket team somehow finds itself in the spotlight.
Last week they were comprehensively outplayed by Bangladesh in the first Test of what was expected to be an off-Broadway soft launch to an epic 12 month odyssey. By this time next year Australia will have touched down in South Africa, India, and England, with the conclusion of the 2027 Ashes expected to be accompanied by a host of retirements and a major changing of the guard.
Far from a regulation victory, Darwin proved catastrophic for the confident hosts. We will find out in Mackay if this was an undercooked side easing into its work or possibly the cause for greater concern.
Selectors saw enough to curtail Jake Weatherald’s international ambitions after just six Tests. The nearly 32-year-old opener averaged just 20 and demonstrated the kind of technical issues with his footwork and blade path that are ill-suited to being rectified in the glare of Test cricket.
Nearly 10 years after debuting as a 20-year-old, Matt Renshaw is the next cab off the rank to audition for the role of Australian Test opener.
Other names in the spotlight this weekend will be Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan Lyon. First drop turned 32 recently and hasn’t struck a century since 2023, since when he’s averaged 25 from 22 matches. Lyon, Australia’s spin-bowling lynchpin for 15 years, is almost 39 and increasingly familiar with the physio’s table. He underwhelmed on his return from a major hamstring strain, and is one of the few players to face serious competition for his place from outside the squad with Corey Rocchiccioli name-checked frequently by the former internationals on TV duty in Darwin.
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