Australia’s best XI for South Africa tour still unresolved after Bangladesh Tests
Australia’s optimal lineup for the forthcoming South Africa tour remains unresolved following the quick-fire Test series against Bangladesh staged in the Northern Territory during that visit. A defeat in Darwin followed by a win in Mackay failed to answer persistent selection questions.
Cricket Australia had not hosted a Bangladesh Test for 23 years because staging one would have cost money and returned less, and the World Test Championship mandate forced administrators to end that wait; the outcome for Australia’s batting was a lose-lose scenario even though the series outcome was lose-win. The Darwin loss is likely to remain a talking point for Australia if the run of matches against South Africa, New Zealand, India and England goes poorly, while the Mackay win offers limited consolation given how it was constructed.
Australia’s bowling remained the dominant facet of the series: before Mackay no Test team had ever had all four bowlers in the 300-wicket club, and two of those four ended the match among the top 10 wicket-takers of all time. That potency reduced demands on the batting line-up across both Tests, and on several occasions Australia’s bowling ensured little was asked of their specialist batters. In Darwin the visitors were able to cope with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, and the home batting collapsed close to an innings defeat.
The specialist batting did not show meaningful improvement across the two matches; first-Test positions of 152-6 and 193-6 slid to 146-6 in the second Test. That decline was mitigated by the bowling such that a single mid-strength effort was sufficient to secure the Mackay victory. Tearing up an opponent with the ball remained a consistent strength for Australia.
Only one batting position emerged with clearer purpose from the Bangladesh series: No 5 for Cameron Green. His rearguard century in Darwin might have altered that result with more support, and his 67 in Mackay helped preserve the win; after many mediocre returns his patience and decision-making were encouragingly improved.
Steve Smith remained Australia's most reliable batter when engaged, although the concentration that once yielded hundreds now more often ended between the 40s and the 70s; Smith at No 4 is the only other spot described as locked in. Travis Head is referred to as a certainty to play, but his series was characterised as "bust rather than boom" and there is discussion about whether his period at the top of the order should be temporary. Jake Weatherald was dropped after the Darwin Test; selectors had previously afforded him latitude following a poor Ashes, greeting that performance with encouraging spin and a national contract, but his brief opportunity did not yield recovery.
Matt Renshaw received 10 balls, edged a leading chance and had no opportunity to build momentum. Marnus Labuschagne’s prospects of further selection were described as approaching an equivalence with Tahitian icebergs, and the manner of his dismissal—moving so far towards off stump that he kicked a ball onto leg stump before remonstrating with the upset furniture—was cited as evidence of a player running low on form; only "devotional faith from selectors could light another candle for him." Alex Carey’s commitment to a counterattacking wicketkeeper role saw him bat more like a No 9 than a No 6, while Beau Webster at No 7 was labelled a triple bust despite having produced some important fifties but no more significant score.
Australia’s packed schedule of Tests has been affected: the run of 20 Tests in a year has now had a couple chalked off, and the issues exposed in those two matches may well colour the 18 that remain.