It’s finally time to get back to the cricket! With the bitter pay dispute drawing to a close, Steve Smith’s team head on tour to face the rapidly improving Bangladesh.

At one point, it looked like this series was on the chopping block. There was no end in sight for Cricket Australia’s ridiculous pay dispute, and while it was always thought the tour of India and Ashes would go ahead, there was a belief this series would be shelled.

Australia’s tour of Bangladesh was already postponed from 2015, after security threats put it on the back burner. That makes this the first time the men from Down Under have toured the troubled subcontinent region since Jason Gillespie scored a double hundred in 2006.

And haven’t the Tigers come a long way since then? Formerly an international cricket laughing stock, but no longer a pushover, the Bangladeshis have had a strong 2017 and will look to continue that here.

This is a side who drew a series at home with England last year, and the Poms are better at playing spin than the Aussies.

The Tigers did lose away from home to New Zealand, but they then came back to the subcontinent and drew a series away from home against Sri Lanka.

They have a good mix of experience and youth and must be taken seriously, with their spin attack on home soil almost as dangerous as India. Australia, of course, struggle against spin – that’s a well-known fact.

In saying that, many had the same doubts for Australia before they toured India earlier this year.

They lost 2-1 after a collapse in Dharamsala, but there was nothing to be ashamed of. They went into hostile conditions against one of the best teams in the world and did a better job than most thought they might.

The problem this time around is that they are playing Bangladesh and therefore Smith’s men are expected to win this series – anything less will be considered a failure.

Australia have to deal with expectation and pressure, and it’s not something they haven’t done well on the subcontinent. They were similarly expected to win the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, but that went pear-shaped.

Comparisons between that series and this one can be drawn, the Aussies taking on a young team, looking to upstage one of the giants of international cricket in their own backyard.

A quick note about the match history – every other Test playing nation has taken on Bangladesh at least ten times, besides India (who have played nine). Therefore, there’s no ‘last five matches’ below.

History

The full match-by-match list
April 16-20, 2006 – Australia won by an innings and 80 runs in Chittagong
April 9-13, 2006 – Australia won by 3 wickets in Fattulah
July 25-28, 2003 – Australia won by an innings and 98 runs in Cairns
July 18-20, 2003 – Australia won by an innings and 132 runs in Darwin

Series history
2006 – Australia defeat Bangladesh 2-0 in Bangladesh
2003 – Australia defeat Bangladesh 2-0 in Australia

Remaining series fixtures
Second Test – Sunday September 4 – Friday September 8 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong (2pm start)

Will we get a result?
Unfortunately, it’s a question we have to ask, as the weather forecast for Dhaka over the next week and a bit is absolutely woeful.

It’s either raining all day, or the perfect setup for an afternoon thunderstorm – you know the type of day – hot, humid and then ‘boom, clap, bang’, that’s stumps.

Day 2 is our best chance of getting a full day’s play in, and even then, the chance of an afternoon thunderstorm is large.

Touring Bangladesh during monsoon season is beginning to seem like a dumb idea. The warm-up game got flooded out, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see two drawn Test matches, as unfortunate as that is.

However, we did see plenty of afternoon thunderstorms during the series against Sri Lanka last year, so we could hope for that again as a best case scenario.

How many pace bowlers will Bangladesh play?
The home side have included three quicks in their 15-man squad: Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam and youngster Taskin Ahmed.

Rahman was selected in Sri Lanka alongside Subashis Roy, with the pair opening the bowling, but there is a line of thought that the Tigers won’t play two pace bowlers this time around.

Mustafizur Rahman did a solid job against Sri Lanka and in his four Tests has taken 12 wickets at an average of 23, which is leaps and bounds above the other two.

Islam, while just 22 years of age, has been carted for an average of 80 so far. He will improve on that, because he has the natural ability, but it would be a huge risk to play him in a series as big as this.

Shafiul is the most experienced of the three, having played nine Tests, but in challenging conditions, his average of 53 doesn’t sing. Still, one would expect him to play the first Test.

Because Shakib Al Hasan bats in the top five, Bangladesh can play two quicks alongside three spinners. That was originally looking like four, but they left Mahmudullah out of the squad.

It looks like the best recipe for the Tigers will be two spinners, with Al Hasan and two quicks.

Can Australia overcome Mehidy Hasan and co?
For those who missed last year’s England series, Mehidy Hasan had one of the greatest debuts Test cricket has ever seen. In two Tests, he took 19 wickets at 16 and spun a web around England.

While the 19-year-old struggled on his first foray outside the subcontinent, to New Zealand, he left Sri Lanka in trouble during March, taking match figures of 4-161 from 45 overs.

Hasan currently has 35 wickets in seven Tests, which is nothing to scoff at. Because of the experience of Al Hasan alongside him, he is able to try different things, bowl to his skill set, and not worry about being the leader of the attack.

It’s made Mehidy’s transition into Test cricket seamless, and if he can continue along this trajectory, he is going to have Australia in all sorts of trouble.

Taijul Islam could be the wildcard. While he missed the series against Sri Lanka, he averages 34 in Test cricket, and is a very good bowler in home conditions.

If Australia can’t see their way past the three-pronged spin attack consistently, they will lose – and lose badly.

How will the tourists’ team balance?
To beat Bangladesh, having quality spin bowling will be key – and the first problem.

Steve O’Keefe being left out of the squad after his workload in India doesn’t make a great deal of sense. Nathan Lyon will again be the lead spinner, but he is going to have to pick up a lot of extra work, with Ashton Agar and Glenn Maxwell likely to be the other options.

Neither Agar or Maxwell are proven on the subcontinent, and Lyon has struggled at times to bowl with enough control to wrap up matches.

While three spinners is all good and well, they have to be actually doing something with the ball, or they might as well not be there.

Two pace bowlers seems to be the general consensus, as it was in India. Without Mitchell Starc though, one would expect wickets are going to be far more difficult to come by. Patrick Cummins will replace the sheer pace-factor somewhat, while Josh Hazlewood will need to be accurate and simply zero in on an off-stump line all day.

The question really, is will Australia play more than one all rounder? Hilton Cartwright is likely to watch on from the sidelines, but he could well bat in the middle order, with Usman Khawaja left out, to give the Aussies another bowling option – especially with the amount of rain around.

Bangladesh must get rid of Steve Smith early
Steve Smith is, without a doubt, Australia’s best player of spin. The captain is going to have a huge role to play in this series, as he did in India and Sri Lanka before it.

If Smith is to be removed early, the pressure is going to be on guys who may not be able to handle it, especially if he comes in with David Warner removed.

Despite Warner’s statistical struggles in Asia, his technique against spin always looks good, and this is an opportunity for him to dispel a few myths about his batting. Alongside Smith, he will be the key for Australia, especially should they be required to chase in the fourth innings.

Peter Handscomb proved in India he can play spin, but coming in directly after a departed Smith against a side who have nothing to lose? Now that’s a whole new set of circumstances.

Nathan Lyon will be under the pump from ball one
Nathan Lyon has drawn plenty of criticism over the years for his inability to dominate in Asia, and like Warner at the top of the order, this is an opportunity for him to finally get on top of things.

If Bangladesh bat aggressively – and, given the weather, they may have no choice – and simply hit Lyon out of the attack, then it’s going to shoot his confidence and ruin Australia’s plans.

And that’s the exact strategy the Tigers should take.

Lyon is at his best when he is in control of the situation, able to bowl restrictively and build pressure. If he is forced to slow his pace down, and mix lines and lengths, the Tigers will have won the battle.

Bangladesh vs Australia: First Test key information

First ball: 2pm (AEST) – 10am (local)
Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka
TV: Live, Fox Sports
Online: Live, Foxtel app and Foxtel now
Betting: Australia $1.57, Bangladesh $6, drawn $3.40
Overall record: Played 4, Australia 4, Bangladesh 0
Last meeting: April 16-20, 2006 – Australia won by an innings and 80 runs in Chittagong
Umpires: Nigel Llong and Aleem Dar (on-field), Ian Gould (3rd umpire)
Odds correct at 10am, Thursday August 24

Squads

Australia (likely XI and reserves)
1. David Warner (vc)
2. Matt Renshaw
3. Usman Khawaja
4. Steve Smith (c)
5. Peter Handscomb
6. Glenn Maxwell
7. Matthew Wade (wk)
8. Ashton Agar
9. Patrick Cummins
10. Josh Hazlewood
11. Nathan Lyon
Reserves – Jackson Bird, Mitchell Swepson, Hilton Cartwright

Bangladesh (likely XI and reserves)
1. Tamim Iqbal
2. Imrul Kayes
3. Mominul Haque
4. Sabbir Rahman
5. Shakib Al Hasan
6. Mushfiqur Rahim (c/wk)
7. Souyma Sarkar
8. Shafiul Islam
9. Mehidy Hasan
10. Taijul Islam
11. Mustafizur Rahman
Reserves: Liton Das, Nasir Hossain, Mossaedk Hossain, Taskin Ahmed

Hours of play

Match starts Sunday, August 27

Prediction

As much as I hate talking about the prospect of a Test being drawn before it even starts, that’s the option that springs to mind.

The weather in Dhaka looks set to be woeful. Sure, it’s a long-range forecast, but it’s certainly notable that the only warm-up game Australia had scheduled was washed out.

If they do manage to get enough play, then it’s going to come down to who’s more aggressively.

Even without winning the toss, taking early wickets with the new ball while there’s still likely to be some moisture in the pitch will be important. After that, Bangladesh take over with their spinners.

Australia might be favourites, and they may never have gone close to losing a match against Bangladesh before, but this is no foregone conclusion.

Hard to see anything other than a draw, but if enough cricket is played, Bangladesh will win a close one.

Don’t forget The Roar will have a live blog of each and every day played by the Australian national team, as well as highlights throughout the match.