Key events
8th over: Bangladesh 34-0 (Shadman 18, Tanzid 9) Really nice from Shadman, takes Hazlewood off the pads through midwicket for a couple more. Haven’t seen much seam movement from Hazlewood, or menacing bounce. There’s a little more lift from the fifth ball of this over. The sixth, though, is belted down the ground! Walks at Hazlewood and flat-bats him back the other way, four.
7th over: Bangladesh 27-0 (Shadman 16, Tanzid 5) Starc trying to bowl full at the stumps, errs with a big full toss that Shadman calmly places through midwicket for three runs, nearly making the rope but just pulled back. I like a player who can calmly dispose of a fully instead of trying to murder it.
6th over: Bangladesh 24-0 (Shadman 13, Tanzid 5) It hasn’t been a case of slotting straight back into the game for Hazlewood. Comes around the wicket, bowls very wide of off stump. Starts to get his line back towards the back of this third over. A nip-backer to Tanzid hits the pad. Scoreless over.
5th over: Bangladesh 24-0 (Shadman 13, Tanzid 5) Now we’re up and running! Shadman gets the first boundary of the day, driving Starc square behind point. Then adds another, this time off the pads through midwicket! Neither shot was laced, both roll gently to the rope, but he’s found the gaps well enough to profit. Tanzid, inspired, drives three through mid on, as Bangladesh take a dozen from the over.
4th over: Bangladesh 12-0 (Shadman 4, Tanzid 2) Tapped to cover for a single early by Shadman. Tanzid is watchful through the rest of the Hazlewood over.
3rd over: Bangladesh 11-0 (Shadman 3, Tanzid 2) Sir Donald Shadman! First runs of the day from a genuine shot for Bangladesh, as Shadman gets forward and on-drives Starc for three.
2nd over: Bangladesh 8-0 (Shadman 0, Tanzid 2) Hazlewood back for the first time in a long time. “No doubt he’ll be right on the money,” says Alyssa Healy, just before Hazlewood bowls down the leg side and gives away a bye. Four more extras from a ball that clips the pad of Tanzid Hasan away to the fence.
Tell you what, Nathan Lyon is rusty too. Huge leading edge from Tanzid, looking to clip through leg but it goes high over point, Lyon tracks back and drops the chance. Doesn’t even really touch it in the end. The first two runs off the bat come in terrible style.
1st over: Bangladesh 0-0 (Shadman 0, Tanzid 0) Two left-handers opening up for Bangladesh, and they do better than Rory Burns: they survive Mitchell Starc’s first over. Good swing from Starc, bowls a couple of full balls that curl and threaten the pads, but some jabbed bats get in the way.
Second innings of the match, let’s go.
Australia all out 198 in the first innings
Some people just tuning in will be doing a double take at that score. Australia bowled out for 198 by Bangladesh, their lowest dismissed score against this team in the few matches they’ve played against one another. It’s a huge achievement.
Now comes the hard part. Bangladesh got rolled over for 50-something by the warm-up team the other day. Their batting has often been a weak point, especially against pace in bouncy conditions. Can they pull together some way to handle Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins?
WICKET! Lyon c Litton Das b Hasan Mahmud, Australia all out 198
53rd over: Australia 197-9 (Lyon 7, Hazlewood 3) Hasan tries to bowl length for a couple of deliveries to Lyon, then the yorker, then the bouncer, and Lyon’s pull shot goes straight up in the air. Six wickets for Hasan! His best figures in Tests, his third five-for, and surely the least expected. He’s rissoled Australia on their home turf, albeit turf they don’t often see themselves. Used the conditions, was consistent enough, and he’s profited with a set of figures that nobody can ever take off him.
52nd over: Australia 197-9 (Lyon 7, Hazlewood 3) The last pair have a swing now, not much to lose and a few runs to gain. Lyon clouts a pull for four, Hazlewood guides Taskin over slip with an uppercut for a couple.
51st over: Australia 189-9 (Lyon 2, Hazlewood 0) Currently 5 for 54 for Hasan Mahmud, that’s an achievement.
WICKET! Smith c Litton Das b Hasan Mahmud 71, Australia 189-9
Yuck, yuck, yuck. The spread field tactic, how I hate thee, but Smith is only going to encourage it by walking into this trap. Everyone is back bar a slip and a gully. Fourth ball, the fielders start drifting up. Smith tries to force the pace from that ball with the short of shot he might play for Washington Freedom: a forehand smash after charging a short ball, looking to flat-bat that over cover I think, but his balance was way off, he’s leaning towards the leg-side as he swings, and the whole thing is utterly hideous. Smith throws away a chance at a hundred with the tail, Bangladesh get the one that really matters, and now they can keep Australia under 200 with one good ball.
50th over: Australia 189-8 (Smith 71, Lyon 2) Taskin Ahmed from the other end, Smith is annoyed at missing out on a boundary – his cut shot spins back off the ground into the cordon. He takes the single fourth ball of the over. Bangladesh still have most of their fielders back.
49th over: Australia 188-8 (Smith 70, Lyon 2) Back after tea with the opening quicks, Hasan first, and Bangladesh want to burn through these last two Australian wickets. Nathan Lyon looks pretty comfortable though, flicking a good yorker off his pads behind square for two.
Tea – Australia 183-8
What a scoreline! Bangladesh are on top, though they still have to make that count. A really good start to the day with their pace opening burst, four wickets in that session, then another four in this one that just came from consistency and some Australian mistakes. Rust aplenty in some of those shots. Smith is well set though, and could yet add a ton against the only opponent he doesn’t have one again. Centuries against seven other countries. He’s never played Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, or Ireland, and given Cricket Australia’s dismissive scheduling, he never will.
48th over: Australia 183-8 (Smith 67, Lyon 0) Smith does just that. Throws his doubtless clean and dry gloves at width from Ebadot Hossain, and flashes it through the cordon gap down to the fence. Not only does it go for four, the return injures Litton behind the stumps, hits him on the end of the finger. A delay for treatment, then Ebadot hits Smith on the thigh pad and very inadvisedly pleads with his captain for a review. Says that it hit Smith on the knee. “Knee roll?” an incredulous Smith can’t help replying to the bowler. “What game are you watching?” The Bangladesh cordon are chuckling.
47th over: Australia 176-8 (Smith 60, Lyon 0) Smith will need to get more adventurous, with only Lyon and Hazlewood to bat.
WICKET! Starc c Litton Das b Hasan Mahmud 1, Australia 176-8
Now Bangladesh can start to believe! There will be no stubborn innings from Starc today. He gets a pretty average delivery, angled across him from the right armer, and he doesn’t need to do anything with that, can just watch it sail by, but he doesn’t. His body weight is leg side but he still reaches out, without any footwork towards the ball, and just pokes at it. There’s a nick, and it’s taken.
46th over: Australia 176-7 (Smith 60, Starc 1) Starc gets his first run for the day, punched straight. Taijul nearly gets him later in the over though, a nice bit of turn into the left-hander that goes through the gate and almost brushes the off stump. See, left-armers can bowl to left-handers…
45th over: Australia 172-7 (Smith 58, Starc 0) Now to focus on the next target. Starc has won matches for Australia with the bat before, including during the recent Ashes, and he’s just the type to do it again, supporting Smith. Blocks out the rest of Hasan’s over.
WICKET! Cummins c Litton Das b Hasan Mahmud 9, Australia 172-7
The bowling change works! Another Australian down, a bit of bounce outside the off stump from the Bangladesh quick, but the ball isn’t short enough to cut, and it’s close to the body. Cummins plays a big cut shot anyway, and a great honking top edge announces itself in the stump microphone before the ball lands in the keeper’s gloves.
44th over: Australia 171-6 (Smith 57, Cummins 9) The skipper does have a dip! Mid on is up, so Cummins gets the boot out the way and pops Taijul over the top for four. The only scoring shot of the over, though.
43rd over: Australia 167-6 (Smith 57, Cummins 5) Taskin back, Smith gives Cummins strike, and Cummins jumps to ride it off his hip to long leg for two. He’ll need to score rather than just batting time, the captain, to make sure Australia get to a more reliable total. On the face of it, an Australian team with even 250 on the board would be confident against Bangladesh in home(ish) conditions, or at least conditions foreign to the visitors. Bangers have to bowl them out for under 200 to make the most of this start. Streaky from Cummins though, who gets an inside edge from a big drive, one run.
42nd over: Australia 163-6 (Smith 56, Cummins 2) Just a single from Taijul’s over, as the game settles for a beat.
41st over: Australia 162-6 (Smith 55, Cummins 2) Another decent over from Taskin, but some bad luck sees Smith score five runs off the middle of his boot. Drops the ball to leg, attempts a single, and the throw at the non-striker’s end hits the running Smith and deflects to the boundary.
Half century! Steve Smith 50 from 76 balls
40th over: Australia 157-6 (Smith 50, Cummins 2) A cover driven single from Taijul, and Smith raises Test fifty number 45. He can drop that stat back to 44 if he turns this one into a ton, and he seems well set for that today.
39th over: Australia 154-6 (Smith 48, Cummins 1) So another rescue job is needed from the captain, and another repair job required from Smith. Bangladesh in the game, but they’ve been in plenty of games over the years that they have let slip. Still a lot of work to do here against Australia’s determined tail.
WICKET! Webster b Taskin Ahmed 12, Australia 153-6
What a beauty! Webster looked in great touch his first few balls, crisp as a slice of Granny Smith apple, but Taskin Ahmed has chomped him in half! Perfect length, a whisper of angle in at the stumps, and a whisper of movement away, and Webster defends down the wrong line, allowing the ball to sneak past his outside edge and hit the top of off stump. Taskin is walking on air.
38th over: Australia 151-5 (Smith 46, Webster 12) Two right-handers at the crease, at last, and Bangladesh turn immediately to their left-arm spinner. Taijul Islam, though, could have warmed up more. Starts with a floating spongy full toss, and Steve Smith clouts it, just using the delivery rather than attacking it too much, over deep midwicket for six! Not the way to start your bowling day. Taijul bowls another that does pitch, and dips nicely, but it’s too full and Webster is able to stroke it through cover for four.
37th over: Australia 138-5 (Smith 38, Webster 7) The wicket doesn’t slow the scoring any, as Beau Webster gets in and gets busy right away. Square drive for four, like the ones that Smith struck a few overs ago, after cover driving for two.
WICKET! Carey b Ebadot 19, Australia 129-5
First ball after drinks! As we’ve seen it so many times before in the long game, the break brings a breakthrough. A bit of angle across the left-hander, a bit of nibble back into him, and Carey pushes at that ball with a fractionally angled bat, playing it back onto his leg bail on the bounce. Fifth wicket in the pocket for Bangladesh.
Thanks Jim. Australian Test whites, eh? Or creams. Jam first. We haven’t seen any of this tea set for a long time. Let’s go…
James Wallace
36th over: Australia 129-4 (Smith 37, Carey 19) Close! Carey sweeps and misses a straight one from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, there’s a vociferous appeal but the ump says no and Bangladesh decide not to risk burning their last review. Perhaps wisely, it may have hit him outside the line.
That’s drinks and time for me to hand over to m’esteemed colleague Geoffrey Lemon. Bye!
35th over: Australia 128-4 (Smith 37, Carey 18) A single to each batter as Ebadot tightens up his line. Clouds rolling in again at Darwin but the humidity is still punishing, Smith’s shirt is stuck to him with sweat, Carey looks as pristine as ever. Swot.
34th over: Australia 126-4 (Smith 36, Carey 17) Smith picks up a couple into the off side off Hasan and that’s the fifty partnership from this pair.
“As the token Englishman in my Australian workplace, I took brief joy in finding out the hosts were 4 wickets down before lunch” writes Phil Withall.
“Then I realised my sporting nemesis, Mr Stephen Smith, was still at the crease. My own hopes, as well as those of the Bangladeshi players, suddenly evaporated. The man is just too good…”
He’s human these days though Phil, he misses the ball occasionally and was dropped at slip early doors today. Cue him scoring a bazillion runs in the next twelve months…
33rd over: Australia 122-4 (Smith 33, Carey 16) Ebadot Hossain returns and it’s an expensive re-introduction from the seamer, Carey gets pads to a full ball that whistles away for four past the keeper. Smith then crunches a drive through cover for four more. Warning signs for Bangladesh.
32nd over: Australia 113-4 (Smith 29, Carey 16) Six runs worked off Mehidy Hasan’s first over. That’s 39 runs since lunch and the run rate up to 3.9 an over. We’ve only had 32 overs bowled though, which is a tired tortoiselike effort from Bangladesh.
31st over: Australia 107-4 (Smith 26, Carey 13) Steve Smith is starting to tick, he crashes two fours through the off side off Mahmud and keeps the strike with a scampered leg bye off the final ball of the over.
30th over: Australia 98-4 (Smith 18, Carey 13) Just a single off Hasan’s first over, he has a slip, short leg and short midwicket in place. I’m sure one or both of Carey and Smith will look to get after him to give Shanto a headache as he looks to shuffle his pack.
29th over: Australia 97-4 (Smith 17, Carey 13) There’s a leg slip in to Carey but Mahmud gets his line wrong, a half volley on off stump is creamed down the ground for four, a checked drive by a dangerous looking Carey. It is now time for some spin, Mehidy Hasan is summoned into the attack.
28th over: Australia 93-4 (Smith 17, Carey 9) Carey pounces on a short ball form Taskin and pulls away for four in front of square. He was on that in a flash. The bowler over corrects with a full ball which Carey leans on to pick up three more from the covers. Runs coming a bit more easily in the afternoon sun.
27th over: Australia 86-4 (Smith 17, Carey 2) Bangladesh have still only used three bowlers so far today – Mahmud, Hossein and Taskin. They need a spinner to hold up and end so they can rotate the quicks and get some rest into the legs. Close! Mahmud finds the edge of Smith’s blade but soft hands sees the ball land short and wide of gully and it runs away for four.
26th over: Australia 81-4 (Smith 13, Carey 1) Taskin keeps Carey honest with a sharp bouncer that thuds into the keeper’s gloves. The sun is back out in Darwin and perhaps the pitch is flattening out a smidge. Carey is off the mark with an inside edge to leg.
25th over: Australia 80-4 (Smith 13, Carey 0) Steve Smith throws the kitchen sink, toastie maker, kettle and condiments at a wide ball from Mahmud and thrashes four past point. Smith then nearly runs himself out after Carey sends him back as he looks for a non existent single behind square on the off side. The throw missed but Smith made his ground with a dive, elegant it was not.
24th over: Australia 76-4 (Smith 9, Carey 0) Carey is so often the man to counterpunch Australia out of a sticky spot. He’s tied down here for the time being though, Taskin reeling off a probing maiden.
23rd over: Australia 76-4 (Smith 9, Carey 0) Steve Smith works a straight ball off his pads for two runs. Alex Carey is at the crease with him, Australia need these two to build a partnership with Beau Webster due in next and Pat Cummins and the rest of the bowlers to come .
Here we go with the afternoon session, Hassan Mahmud is going to start things off with the ball, he’s got 2-25 from his day’s work so far. Play!
More lunchtime reading:
Speaking of the English, Joe Root has done the sensible thing. Over to his players to do the same…
“Hi James”
Hello Rowan McSweeney!
“How good is Cricket in August?!”
Well that’s a loaded question for us in Blighty with only The Hundred being played in these prime weeks of summer… NOT NOW JIM! LEAVE IT!
“Weatherald getting out after another start. He seems to make heavy weather of his starts, then almost relaxes too much when he gets his eye at least somewhat in. Don’t be too nervous but also don’t be too relaxed! Who’d be a batter, eh?”
He seemed a bit lost this morning, he’s tinkered with his technique to combat getting pinned lbw but then played and missed a handful of times before nicking off to the keeper.
Lunch: Australia 74-4
Pat Cummins is in the nets at lunch, with the bat in hand. I’m sure he didn’t have that in mind when he won the toss and chose to have a bat this morning in Darwin. Weatherald, Head, Labuschagne and Green have all been sent packing.