Bangladesh stun Australia in Darwin in result Geoff Lemon calls cricket’s greatest upset
Bangladesh defeated Australia in Darwin on Sunday in a Test match, a result Geoff Lemon described as the most profound upset in international cricket history. The visitors completed the win across four days without losing a single session.
Lemon noted the rarity of the fixture and the gulf between the two nations: since Bangladesh’s admission to Test status in 2000, Cricket Australia had arranged just six Tests against them before this series, only two of those in Australia over 26 years. He recorded a cancelled 2015 tour on “spurious security grounds”, another cancellation during the pandemic that was not rescheduled, and a rescinded invitation in 2018 with Cricket Australia admitting they did not want to pay the hosting bill. White-ball encounters have been sparse too, with a bilateral total of 15 one-day internationals and eight T20s.
The piece put Sunday’s victory in historical perspective by comparing it with past shocks: Australia’s 1882 win in England that prompted a cremation-themed obituary, Zimbabwe’s defeat of India in 1998, Pakistan’s wins in India in 1952 or England in 1954, and India’s Gabba victory in 2021 driven by bench depth. Lemon argued those events are notable but said Bangladesh’s result stands apart because of the matchup’s manufactured rarity and the scale of the pre-match disparity.
Lemon emphasised how unlikely the outcome was given Bangladesh’s record and experience: the country has nine away Test wins in its entire history and, aside from three survivors from the 2015 World Cup squad, most of the touring group had never faced or bowled an international delivery in Australia. In their warm-up they were bowled out for 54 by a player with a single first-class match to his name.
Australia’s resources and recent form were detailed to underline the size of the shock: the side that lost featured four bowlers with more than 1,600 Test wickets between them and a top seven who together have 66 centuries and more than 25,000 runs. Despite that, Bangladesh produced what Lemon described as a “Mortal Kombat flawless victory”, beating them without surrendering a session on any of the four days.
Lemon rejected explanations based on Australian complacency, noting there was “no complacency in their comments before the game or their conduct during it.” He cited technical errors — chasing the angle, playing the wrong line and chopping on to angled balls — and said those mistakes will renew debates about rustiness and match-play preparation. Individual performances were mixed: Cameron Green scored a century, Marnus Labuschagne batted for about an hour and a half before a costly error, Jake Weatherald had a poor Test, the fast bowlers offered some good new-ball bursts and discipline with the old ball, and Nathan Lyon “lacked pep.”
Beyond the immediate match consequences, Lemon wrote that the result forces reconsideration of Bangladesh’s place in international scheduling. He said the win has dragged Australia off top spot in the World Test Championship and gives Bangladesh a chance to repeat the result in the second Test; he added that Australia desperately need a win in that match to settle nerves. Lemon also pointed to broader scheduling disparities, noting England had not played Bangladesh for 17 years before granting them a single Test and that India took 24 years to invite them to tour.
The teams meet next in the second Test in Mackay, where Bangladesh can attempt another upset and Australia must pursue victory to respond to the standings impact in the World Test Championship.