Bangladesh return to Australia after 23 years for ICC World Test Championship series on 12 August 2026

Bangladesh returned to Australia on 12 August 2026 to begin an ICC World Test Championship series against Australia, 23 years after their last Test in the country, and arrive with limited expectations of success but nothing to lose.

Their only previous Test in Australia was in Darwin in July 2003, which ended in an innings-and-132-run defeat to Steve Waugh's Australia; Bangladesh were bowled out for 97 in the first innings and 178 in the second. Two decades later a different generation of players has made the trip, yet the scale of the challenge is described as enormous in the build-up to the series. The tourists' mindset is framed around testing themselves against one of the strongest Test sides.

Bangladesh's warm-up against a Cricket Australia XI ended in an innings-and-38-run loss, with the visitors collapsing to just 54 in their second innings. Campbell Thompson took 8-25 in that game, ripping through the Bangladesh batting line-up, and had played only one first-class match before featuring in the tour game. The result was presented in the report as a reminder that Australian conditions can punish even a momentary lapse in concentration.

Australia have named their playing XI for the first Test, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all selected. The selectors opted for Hazlewood alongside Cummins and Starc, with Lyon also retained. That selection means Bangladesh will face three specialist fast bowlers before negotiating Lyon's off-spin as the match progresses.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto addressed preparation on the eve of the series and is quoted saying: "We have been preparing on bouncy wickets at home in the last few months. That gives us a little bit more of an idea," and added: "Here there will be bounce, and we are well prepared having arrived 10 or 12 days before the Test. "It gives us more idea regarding the bounce. They have a world-class bowling attack, but as a team, it is a good opportunity to challenge them." These remarks were presented as the team's assessment of acclimatisation and preparations for bounce and pace.

Bangladesh will be without Nahid Rana, who has been ruled out with injury; the report states Rana's pace and ability to extract bounce would have been valuable on Australian pitches. There was better news with Litton Das and Shoriful Islam both declared fit, with Litton's experience and Shoriful's left-arm pace cited as boosts for the visitors. The account notes Rana's absence leaves Bangladesh without a bowler described as capable of providing the same raw speed and intimidation.

Australia's decision to leave Scott Boland out of the XI was highlighted in the report, with Cummins commenting on the selection: "They're both pretty class, aren't they?" and adding: "We were pretty certain we wanted 'Lyono' in the side, so (it came down to) working out what the make-up of the quicks were. "It's always a pretty tight call. It's one of those ones where there's not much you can say to Scotty other than obviously there's a lot of cricket coming up. "But he knows his worth and how good he is. I'm sure he'll be out there at some point pretty soon." The article notes that leaving a bowler of Boland's quality on the bench underlines the size of Bangladesh's task.

Matches - 1 | Australia - 1 | Bangladesh - 0

Australia: Alex Carey, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Jake Weatherald, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Musfik Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam

Both sides proceed into the opening Test with the selections and availability outlined above; Australia have named their playing XI for the first Test while Bangladesh travel without Nahid Rana but with Litton Das and Shoriful Islam declared fit.