Problems with Australian cricket in subcontinental conditions are again on the agenda after a shock loss in the first Test against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh made history by defeating the Aussies for the first time in Test cricket history. The last time Bangladesh defeated Australia in any form of cricket was back in 2005 when the Tigers stole victory from Ricky Ponting’s men in England.
Australian fans like myself have known for quite some time now that the Subcontinent is a gruelling beast we struggle with, but now we have hit an all-time low – losing to a side ranked ninth is just not acceptable for the high standards Australia sets.
The only team ranked lower than Bangladesh is Zimbabwe, which last won a Test match on 8 August 2011 against Bangladesh itself.
Back in August 2016 Australia’s Test cricket side was ranked the best in the world and held that spot for six months. One year later we’re ranked fourth in the world and have started losing to the ninth-ranked Test nation.
The Subcontinent is a major issue for Australian cricket, and something needs to be done sooner rather than later.
Australia’s last tour in subcontinental conditions was in India, and what the side did well was not what they did on the pitch but what they did before the series in preparation. The changes in preparation for the India tour were for Australia to take their resources to Dubai several weeks before the series, and the results showed.
For the current Bangladesh tour Australia had seven days of preparation in Darwin. Darwin is a city surrounded by a whole territory of red dirt, but it is definitely not the ideal place to prepare for a tour of the Subcontinent.
But to Bangladesh’s credit, they deserved to win the first Test and played extremely well. Positive signs have been growing for the country’s cricket for many years, especially in the one-day format. They are currently ranked seventh in ODIs and didn’t go down without a fight in the ICC Champions Trophy in England a few months ago.
Bangladesh also has the best all-rounder in the world in Shakib Al Hasan, who not only brings consistent performances but also leadership and confidence to his teammates.
(Image: AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
The history of the Subcontinent
Cricket results prove there is cause for major concern with Australian batsmen on the Subcontinent. Writing this is difficult, but our Australian batsmen, notably excluding captain Steve Smith, are just flat-track bullies who cannot prove themselves in spinning conditions.
Results confirm the problems with our batsmen and the reason we struggle to win Test series in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
For example, the last time Australia won in India was in 2004, Sri Lanka in 2011, Pakistan in 2002 and Bangladesh in 2005. In other words, the last time we won a Test series in all of Asia was back in 2011.
Aren’t we meant to be one of the best cricket playing countries in the world?
Now don’t get me wrong, the Subcontinent is a hard place to play cricket if you are not prepared. But how do other non-subcontinental countries fare in Test wins when they play in Asia?
The most recent series victory for England was against India in 2012, for New Zealand it was against Bangladesh in 2008, for South Africa it was against Sri Lanka in 2014, for the West India it was against Bangladesh in 2012 and for Zimbabwe it was against Bangladesh in 2001.
Almost every cricketing nation struggles when it comes to a tour to the subcontinent. Our biggest arch-rivals, England, have a better recent record when travelling to the Subcontinent. Surely this makes our blood boil to work harder and perform better in spinning conditions.
We now sit and wait for the second Test against Bangladesh to see if Australia just had an off Test match and can fight back or if it will be more proof that more needs to be done to prepare for Subcontinent tours.
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