Bangladesh eye landmark series win

Australia’s desire to keep its rare Test series against Bangladesh as brief as possible has had the unintended consequence of meaning that Steven Smith’s team can now do no better than tie the series following their narrow defeat in Mirpur. Equally it means Bangladesh are themselves within touching distance of their most significant series victory in 17 mostly faltering years of Test cricket. Their other wins have come against Zimbabwe (twice) and the West Indies, both of whom have spent much of that time propping up the bottom of the ICC’s rankings table - besting Australia would be another matter entirely.

The visitors will likely be better for the run last week, having not previously had any competitive cricket leading into it. However, their team composition is shrouded in conjecture as doubts swirl around the places of Usman Khawaja and Matthew Wade in particular. Wade, at least, has the knowledge that his only possible replacement is the part-time wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb, who notably trained for his more customary short leg posting at the team’s main session on Saturday. However, Khawaja could find himself missing out in place of the allrounder Hilton Cartwright, creating room for the unexpected return of Steve O’Keefe and leaving Pat Cummins as the only paceman. Bangladesh look altogether more settled in comparison.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to Bangladesh in Chittagong will be mental, simply getting used to the idea that a series defeat of Australia is not just a possibility but an opportunity waiting to be taken. But after significant Test wins over England and Sri Lanka in the past 12 months, it would be the logical next step in the team’s evolution. Australia, by contrast, need a victory to offer evidence of progress away from home, and also to bolster confidence ahead of a home Ashes series in much friendlier climes. All this is without mentioning that the weather forecast for Chittagong over the next five days is far from promising - another variable given added weight by the scheduling of a mere two Tests.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Sabbir Rahman, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Nasir Hossain/Mominul Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.

Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Peter Handscomb, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Hilton Cartwright, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Steve O’Keefe, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Source: ESPNcricinfo