Now the shambles of the pay dispute is over (for now), it’s back to the on-field matters of cricket, and while most of the talk regards the home Ashes series, there is an upcoming series to Bangladesh Australia should be wary of.
After long being considered the whipping boys among the Test-playing nations, recent results or performances mean that Australia should not be taking them lightly.
Since their quarter-final performance at the 2015 Cricket World Cup that almost knocked off England and pushed out tournament co-hosts and eventual finalists New Zealand, Bangladesh have also been able to convert some of the 50-over success into the Test area.
In recent times they achieved maiden test wins over England and Sri Lanka – in Sri Lanka, no less. In between these triumphs Bangladesh also made a record test total in an 8/595 loss against New Zealand.
With an established core of players like Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh have personnel who can match it at the top level. This is in addition to some exciting young prospects, like off-spinning all-rounder Mehidy Hasan and predominant batsmen Mossadek Hossain and Sabbir Rahman, among others.
Considering Australia’s well-documented struggles on the subcontinent – although performances in India earlier this year may suggest a turning of a corner –, this will probably not be a walk in the park.
Just like in India or Sri Lanka, Bangladeshi pitches have been noted for turning square early on. This was perhaps most noticeable in a Test Bangladesh hosted England last year in Dhaka, the historic one for Bangladesh cricket.
The Test ended within three days, with the spin trio of Medihy Hasan, who took 12/159 for the match, Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam combining to take all twenty wickets for the hosts. Dhaka will host for the first match of the series.
In essence this is a series Australia should still win, but if the batsmen don’t apply some of the foundations they built upon from the Indian tour, do not be surprised if this turns out to be another chapter in our incompetence on the subcontinent.
And, oh yes, it is the monsoon season in Bangladesh, so we could either be spared or robbed of a series loss or win anyhow.
13th Man
Guest
Nah I would go Agar mostly for his batting over the unproven Swepson. Agar will do ok in Bangladesh, his stats look worse because he plays most of his games at the WACA which is a spinners graveyard. Would go in with Warner Renshaw Khawaja Smith Handscomb Maxwell Wade (yuck) Agar Cummins Lyon Hazelwood
Bakkies
Guest
Is he ruled out? He has been playing county Cricket in England
matth
Guest
Well we are about to find out.
matth
Guest
If you are only playing Cummins and Hazlewood, is there any merit in playing Cartwright as a back up third seamer? It's harsh on whichever batsman misses out (Maxwell or Khawaja I'd imagine) but might be needed for balance. Also given Starc and Pattinson are both injured, can we risk over-working Cummins and Hazlewood? Another option is to play Bird for Swepson and Agar for one of the batsmen. That's a risky ploy to weaken our batting, given how badly we often bat against spin. So I reluctantly go with your suggestion, but Smith will have to be very careful how he uses his pace bowlers.
amreeka
Guest
aussies wud be humiliated and pasted rigourously there...
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Nathan Lyon is a getting a lot of attention in the Bangladesh camp. But, I personally expect Hazzlewood to be a big threat as well. With all the rain we are having here, the bounce will be very low, giving an excellent opportunity for a wicket to wicket bowler like josh to pick uo a few LBW decisions. Also, the likes of Imrul Kayes Mominul or even Shakib has a tendency to play across the line in a bid to score legside.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Bring in the huge number of batsmen who have played in series wins on the subcontinent.....
Craig
Guest
If Khawaja fails again? What happens?
AREH
Roar Guru
I see a LOT of merit in the Bond comparison...seems spot on.
Alan
Guest
Shoot, missed the auto text ... that should read A grade side... hehehe
Alan
Guest
Shoot, missed the auto text ... that should read A grade side... hehehe
Alan
Guest
Um it's not arrogant to suggest Sri Lanka were a weak side. Prior to the series more than one Roar "guru" was suggesting the Sri's wouldn't beat an Amazing grade side - now that's arrogant. Oh, and wrong.
BurgyGreen
Guest
So frustrating. Looking increasingly like another Shane Bond or Ryan Harris.
Stephen Yan
Roar Rookie
Pattinson ruled out, now why does that not surprise me?
BurgyGreen
Guest
1. Renshaw 2. Warner 3. Smith 4. Khawaja 5. Handscomb 6. Maxwell 7. Wade 8. Cummins 9. Lyon 10. Swepson 11. Hazlewood
Stephen Yan
Roar Rookie
Starc is out injured which will probably mean that Hazlewood & Cummins will be our pace bowlers (with Pattinson in reserve) for the series. Both bowled very well in India & I expect them to cause a few issues for the Bangladeshis as well. They are still prone to the odd batting collapse & their batsmen are still prone to playing the odd poor shot, therefore tying them down will be key, just like any batting side tbh. Mustafizur Rahman has declined somewhat, but could still be a handful, while their spin attack are bound to give our bats a worthy challenge.
AGordon
Guest
This will be a key series for the batsmen in particular, excluding Smith. Renshaw and Hanscomb need to make runs, both for confidence and to prove the Indian tour was no fluke. Maxwell needs to show he is a genuine number 6 and put to bed issues about his place in the side as does Wade, assuming he's the keeper. The guy who has most to prove is Warner. He's the vice captain, but had a really poor Indian tour by his standards. It wasn't so much he got few runs, but he got out "ugly" - he gifted his wicket instead of prizing it. I also suspect he's got plenty of anger in him from the recent pay saga and hopefully this gets channelled into runs. I rate this as a "must win" series for Australia. The guys have little time to get their heads right before the first Test but hopefully they'll get it done.
Liam
Guest
Um, what? It's a bit arrogant to suggest that Sri Lankan side was considerably weak when they inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on the supposedly strong Australian side. That series was noteworthy for several reasons; a few of Sri Lanka's bowlers are diabolical on a spinning deck - which all the tests were - and that Mendis was quality, making a lot of runs despite the Australian bowlers playing pretty well. Should be a good series, and one waited for. It's not been a good six months for Australian cricket, so I'm just happy that this tour's going ahead and we get actual cricket to talk about.
Basil
Guest
Aussies have to mentally approach this as they did the India series. Anything less and they will walk away embarrassed.
Mike Dugg
Guest
will the Aussies actually pick Khawaja this time?