After having Bangladesh in big trouble at 5-117, Australia couldn’t press home their advantage as Pat Cummins melted down in the heat and spinner Steve O’Keefe turned in a very rusty performance.
When Australian spinner Ashton Agar had superstar Shakib Al Hasan caught behind midway through the second session, the visitors had a chance to dismiss Bangladesh for under 200 on a flat pitch.
But Australia’s attack failed to maintain pressure and Bangladesh’s middle-to-lower order batted wonderfully well to guide the home side to a good position at 6-253 at stumps.
For the second consecutive Test, Australia ran through Bangladesh’s top order but could not finish the job. At Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed to 3-10 on day one before a big stand between Shakib and opener Tamim Iqbal led them to an above-par score of 260 on a difficult pitch.
Yesterday it was wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (62 not out from 149 balls) and middle order batsman Sabbir Rahman (66 from 113 balls) who rescued Bangladesh. While Sabbir took on the bowlers, Mushfiqur was impressively dogged, focusing on playing with a straight bat and eliminating risk from his game.
It must be said, however, that Australia’s attack looked increasingly lame, both literally and figuratively, as the day progressed. Australia broke from tradition to play three frontline spinners – the first time in 40 years that they had fielded just one fast bowler in a Test match.
With pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood out injured, the selectors overlooked reserve quick Jackson Bird and leg spinner Mitchell Swepson in favour of O’Keefe.
O’Keefe was rushed to Bangladesh when Hazlewood went down, after initially being left out of Australia’s squad, and yesterday bowled like a man who was thoroughly unprepared.
O’Keefe’s trademark is his unrelenting accuracy, yet he laboured to find consistency in either his line or length. Too often he overpitched and allowed the Bangladesh batsman to drive him through the offside. At other times he dragged his deliveries down and created chances for the batsmen to slice him away off the back foot.
It was, by some distance, the worst O’Keefe has bowled in his nine-Test career, which has yielded him a good record of 33 wickets at an average of 29. Meanwhile, Cummins was badly affected by the 31C heat and sapping humidity of Chittagong.
After bowling eight overs in the first session, and then three more just after lunch, Cummins spent a significant amount of time off the field in the second session. Even after having a 20-minute break for tea, Cummins was unable to return to the field for the start of the final session.
Captain Steve Smith saved Cummins for the second new ball, with which he bowled three overs and looked heavily fatigued. This raised questions about Cummins’ fitness given that 17 overs is by no means a heavy workload for a paceman on the first day of a Test, even in humid conditions.
Cummins did, however, bowl gallantly on a dead pitch which offered minimal assistance to either pace or spin bowlers. Chittagong is the most batting-friendly Test pitch in Bangladesh.
The average first innings total at Chittagong has been 390 across the past ten Tests at the ground, and 420 from the past five matches. But any score over 300 will be a good return for Bangladesh given Australia’s poor batting record in Asia and their tendency to crumble under scoreboard pressure.
Australia had been in a position to roll Bangladesh for less than 200 thanks to some brilliant bowling by lead spinner Nathan Lyon. The veteran overcame the docile pitch to grab three wickets in the first session and a fourth just after lunch, before completing his five-for in the final session.
This continued a lucrative patch of form for Lyon, who has the sensational figures of 33 wickets at 21 from his six Tests in Asia this year. Those stats are especially impressive when you consider that, prior to that, he had averaged 43 with the ball in Asia from 11 matches.
Yesterday he earned four LBWs thanks to his testing length and deceptive changes of pace. The big improvement in Lyon’s bowling in India was his ability to trap batsmen on the crease, stuck between either going back or stretching forward.
Again yesterday, he found that same perfect length and exploited it by mixing up his pace considerably, sometimes by as much as 12kmh between consecutive deliveries. Agar, too, did a fine job of tying up the Bangladesh batsmen, sending down six maidens from his 17 overs, compared to O’Keefe who didn’t manage even one.
Australia need O’Keefe and Cummins to overcome their different struggles if they are to square the series at Chittagong.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Well, they have made up for the lost opportunities on the first day.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Cheers Glenn, it is definitely a pattern which has emerged for Australia while playing in Asia.
matth
Guest
And they nearly did! You're a genius Giri.
matth
Guest
And Bangladesh have a stronger middle order (with Shakib and the Captain) than a top order and bat down to 8. Australia will generally do better initially and then struggle becasue their top order is better than their middle order.
matth
Guest
Capital letters are merely complimenting you to get free drinks.
matth
Guest
Based on your own assessment, the test is only done if Smith doesn't go large.
matth
Guest
The weird thing is that O'Keefe did not even play in the Darwin practice match, but Jon Holland did and was reportedly very handy. The whole thing was weird and it's a pity Swepson didn't get a game.
matth
Guest
Given our entire team are prone to LBW's that's not a great sign. Where is Watto when you need him?
matth
Guest
Cartwright is a batsman who bowls a bit. His bowling should not be how he is judged at all.
doogs
Guest
yes. I understood he had a terrific average in the latest domestic season and bowled more as a backup.
doogs
Guest
there is absolutely no way they have taken it lightly. They faired very well in India and were one good session away from winning the series. They lost the first test here by 20 runs against a side that are no longer minnows. They have been ultra competitive and are certainly not being embarrassed
Peter
Roar Rookie
I don't think there's any evidence that we have taken this tour lightly.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Nope I did not mean that.Cartwright is a good young player and might as well score a lot of runs but his bowling would not be effective.I felt that Cartwright's selection as a bowling all rounder was a bad one. If he is just a batting replacement for Khawaja then fair enough. When you are playing a subcontinent team, it is always handy to have two good pace bowlers. Playing 3 spinners unless they are all very good is a overkill. That's why I also said at the end that the only way Australia were going to get Bird in was by dropping Wade as they had already decided to play 3 spinners.
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
Is it your belief that Cartwright's selection (as a batsman replacement for Khawaja) looks like a poor one because O'Keefe didn't bowl well and Cummins felt a bit hot? I can only assume this is what you mean as you are making this statement after the first days play and the Aussies haven't batted yet. And it's worth noting that we played a batsman short in the first test by making the error of picking Khawaja in these conditions.
Rellum
Roar Guru
You are going to struggle Jameswm convince people that a player is not an all-rounder once they are branded as such.
Rellum
Roar Guru
James is correct, not Ross. Cartwright is a batsmen brought in to replace Usman who the selectors think can't score in the sub-continent. He is not an all-rounder.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
It does look like a poor selection but again Hilton might smash a hundred and prove us all wrong. But the only way they were going to get another pacer was to drop wade and play Handscomb as the keeper. Bird for Khawaja would mean Aussies would be playing one batsman short which is not ideal considering batting has been their problem.
Basil
Guest
Hilton came in as a batsman for Khawaja.
Stephen
Guest
Yeah seriously if you were going to move Khawaja, then take a geniune bowler like bird, not a allrounder whose bowling is ineffective on these pitches. Hilton will be great on our pitches but not here
jameswm
Roar Guru
They might have been good enough to get edges on the Cummins deliveries the bangers batsmen were missing.