3 min readAug 23, 2026 06:59 PM IST
With the Australia vs Bangladesh 2nd Test ending in just 2 days after the visitors lost by an innings and 51-run, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto called for similar scrutiny for the Mackay pitch that the subcontinent surfaces face when bowlers dominate the match. Three of Australia’s last seven home tests have finished within two days, including the Perth and Melbourne Ashes tests during the last home summer, which cost host board Cricket Australia millions in forgone revenue.
“Normally when we play in the subcontinent and 18-19 wickets fall in a day, there is a lot of talk, everyone speaks up. Eighteen wickets fell on Day 1 here too. People need to understand that. The pitch was challenging, and that’s why 18 wickets fell. When we play in the subcontinent, let’s make sure we don’t forget these things,” Shanto said in the post-match press conference.
Following a famous nine-wicket win over Australia in Darwin, Bangladesh’s defeat on Sunday led to their first test series in Australia in 23 years finishing at 1-1.
Bangladesh piled on 426 runs in their first innings on a flat wicket in Darwin but were bowled out for 64 and 95 in Mackay as their batters struggled with the pace and bounce of the wicket, not to mention the supreme bowling of left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc. Shanto said beating Australia in Darwin was a proud moment for his team but Mackay highlighted the challenge of facing a nation that had hosted them in only one previous test tour back in 2003.
“We showed our character and our discipline in that first test and we need to be consistent,” he said.
“I believe if we are able to get more chances in similar kind of conditions here, it will help us. And that’s what we want. Not long, long time — like 23 years … And then play two test matches. It’s not easy. If we have that opportunity, that chance to play every single year, it will help us to improve our game.”
Australia are not alone in rarely hosting Bangladesh, with England having played only four tests against them at home. Bangladesh’s last test tour of England was a two-match series in 2010.
