Litton’s duck tales: A tour Down Under without a run

Litton Das barely had time to settle in before another duck was added to his growing collection.

The Bangladesh wicketkeeper walked in with the Tigers already in deep trouble on the second day of the Mackay Test on Sunday, and walked straight back after 10 deliveries without scoring.

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Mitchell Starc was the bowler, collecting his third wicket of the innings and ninth of the match as Bangladesh slipped to 63 for five, still 83 runs behind after Australia had taken a 146-run first-innings lead.

In ther 25th over, another loose shot was on display as Starc angled a short-of-a-length delivery across Litton, who had little movement in his feet as he went after it. The outside edge flew at waist height towards third slip, where Beau Webster moved to his right to complete the catch and send Litton back to the pavilion -- - sealing the 31-year-old's hat-trick of ducks.

For Litton, it completed a miserable batting tour of Australia without a single run to his name.

It was his fifth duck in 97 Test innings, adding another unwanted entry to a series that has offered him very little with the bat. His Australia struggles are particularly striking given the form he carried into the tour. Against Pakistan in Sylhet in the preceding series, Litton scored a valiant 126 and 69 in Bangladesh’s 78-run victory.

Now, the runs have disappeared entirely.

India’s Ajit Agarkar holds the unwanted record for most consecutive ducks in Australia, failing to score in five successive innings during the 1999-2000 series.

Litton is fast catching up with Khaled Ahmed and former quick Rubel Hossain, who lead Bangladesh’s unwanted list with four consecutive ducks each.

The bright side for Litton is that this is only a two-Test series, which is set to be a draw as the hosts close in on an innings victory.

Bangladesh won the first Test in Darwin by nine wickets.