‘Disappointing’ display in Darwin warm-up raises alarm

It took a little over two days for Bangladesh’s batting frailties to be exposed in Australia as the visitors were bowled out for just 54 in their second innings, suffering an innings-and-38-run defeat to the Cricket Australia XI in their lone three-day warm-up fixture at the DXC Arena in Darwin yesterday.

Australian rookie pacer Campbell Thompson, who had played only one first-class match before this game, tore through Bangladesh’s batting line-up on the final day, finishing with remarkable figures of 8-25. The visitors lasted only 17 overs after resuming on 19 for two.

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The result was hardly surprising given Bangladesh’s struggles throughout the match. The Tigers ended the second day 73 runs behind the CA XI’s first-innings total of 355, needing a substantial batting effort to avoid defeat.

While No. 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s unbeaten 109 helped Bangladesh reach 263 in the first innings, there was no resistance in the second. Shadman Islam (31) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (37) had made useful contributions earlier, but the second innings collapsed like a house of cards, producing only one double-digit score -- opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim’s 22.

Bangladesh’s inability to handle both pace and spin remained a concern. Off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli claimed 6-83 in the first innings, while Thompson exploited the conditions in the second. The manner of the dismissals was also concerning and could not be attributed solely to the bowlers. Experienced batters Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Shanto struggled against Thompson’s swinging deliveries, while Soumya Sarkar edged behind.

Head coach Phil Simmons acknowledged the batting failures but remained hopeful that the team could address them before the first Test, beginning at Marrara Stadium in Darwin on August 13.

“Yeah, I think the three days that we've had and working on things, I think they've been very good. I think we let ourselves down with the bat in this practice match. And you look at how we got out and it wasn't nice,” Simmons said.

Bangladesh also failed to capitalise with the ball after reducing the CA XI to 139 for five on Friday, as Teague Wyllie’s 130 and Jake Duran’s 76 helped the hosts recover to 355.

The obvious question now is: if Bangladesh struggled this badly against a Cricket Australia XI that did not feature any of Australia’s established international bowlers, what awaits them against the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon in the Test series?

“I trust that the guys are going to put in the work over this next three days to get us where we want to be for that Test match. Disappointing match, but we move on and we look forward to the Test match,” Simmons added.

After waiting 23 years for a Test series in Australia, Bangladesh now have just three days to address the batting flaws exposed in Darwin. The warning signs could hardly be clearer.