Australia v Bangladesh second Test: Aussies bowling first in a bid to avoid an embarrassing series sweep
Australia were ambushed in Darwin to fall to a historic loss against Bangladesh; can their struggling batting group regroup to stave off a series sweep? Follow all the action live!
Cricket: Australia were ambushed in Darwin to fall to a historic loss against Bangladesh and now enter the Great Barrier Reef Arena with question marks over their experienced but aging squad.
Bangladesh will hold no fears after their historic Test victory and are looking to become the first-ever visiting team to whitewash Australia on home soil.
Follow all the action live!
Josh Kempton is reporting live.
Bangladesh’s Darwin centurion gone!
And now Bangladesh’s centurion from Darwin Tanzid Hasan is gone for a duck as well!
He hung around believing the ball may have gone into the ground before being taken by Beau Webster, but was proven wrong by a replay.
Mitchell Starc has given Australia the best of starts!
BAN 2-9
Hoff off
After claiming seven of his side’s 11 wickets in Darwin, Josh Hazlewood was not quite on the money in his first over in Mackay.
Bangladesh’s No.3 Mominul Haque chipped a catch in the area of Pat Cummins at wide mid-on, but the chance eluded Australia’s captain and went away for his second boundary.
BAN 1-9
Wicket very first ball!
Mitchell Starc has given Australia the PERFECT start with the game’s very first ball!
A late away-swinger drew a leading edge from Shadman Islam which was pouched by Cam Green in the gully.
Amazingly, that’s Starc’s 28th wicket in the first over of a Test innings.
BAN 1-0
Here we go!
We’re about to get under way in Mackay, with Mitchell Starc set to open the bowling for Australia.
He will be hoping to knock over Bangladesh’s openers Shadman Islam and Tanzid Hasan, the latter of whom made a fine century in Darwin.
BAN 0-0
Finch expecting bounce back
Channel Seven’s Aaron Finch has joined the commentary team for this game and he is expecting Australia to bounce back.
“I think that (Josh) Hazelwood will be an absolute handful. With this slight breeze going across the ground, that will help Mitchell Starc swing that new ball as well and we know how important he is and how destructive he can be when that ball swings,” Finch said.
“And it was interesting to hear Pat come and say, from a bowling point of view, that they need to be more destructive.
“The one thing that they can’t afford to do though is search. Once you start thinking, ‘I have to take wickets’, that’s when you can start leaking runs. That’s when you can be either too full or too short.
“They’ve just got to go back to what their basics are. They know what to do.”
State of play
After a disastrous result in Darwin last week, it’s fair to say this is a massive game for Australia.
With a calendar of as many as 21 Test matches coming up over the next 12 months, they will be desperate to bounce back from one of the poorest performances in living memory and at least square the series.
Hello!
And welcome to our live coverage of the first ever Test in Mackay at the Great Barrier Reef Arena!
Australia will be out to bounce back from an embarrasing defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in Darwin last week.
Pat Cummins has won the toss and elected to bowl, with Matt Renshaw coming into their side in place of axed opener Jake Weatherald.
Bangladesh, who will be aiming to back up the greatest win in their history, have made one change, with Shoriful Islam replacing his fellow fast bowler Ebadot Hussain.
Play will get under way in around 15 minutes.
