Key events
Geoff Lemon
Sport coverage is powered by hyperbole and recency bias, but the following statement is justifiable: Bangladesh’s defeat of Australia in Darwin is the most profound upset, the greatest revolt against the pre-game odds, in international cricket history. Australia’s win in England in 1882 so shocked locals that they published a cremation-themed obituary, but the same result had already happened four times on the other side of the world. Zimbabwe stunned India in 1998, but that was at least in the underdogs’ home conditions.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Welcome to live OBO coverage of the second Test between Australia and Bangladesh from the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. Play begins at 10am AEST.
As Australian sporting attention remains trained on the winter football codes the men’s cricket team somehow finds itself in the spotlight.
Last week they were comprehensively outplayed by Bangladesh in the first Test of what was expected to be an off-Broadway soft launch to an epic 12 month odyssey. By this time next year Australia will have touched down in South Africa, India, and England, with the conclusion of the 2027 Ashes expected to be accompanied by a host of retirements and a major changing of the guard.
Far from a regulation victory, Darwin proved catastrophic for the confident hosts. We will find out in Mackay if this was an undercooked side easing into its work or possibly the cause for greater concern.
Selectors saw enough to curtail Jake Weatherald’s international ambitions after just six Tests. The nearly 32-year-old opener averaged just 20 and demonstrated the kind of technical issues with his footwork and blade path that are ill-suited to being rectified in the glare of Test cricket.
Nearly 10 years after debuting as a 20-year-old, Matt Renshaw is the next cab off the rank to audition for the role of Australian Test opener.
Other names in the spotlight this weekend will be Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan Lyon. First drop turned 32 recently and hasn’t struck a century since 2023, since when he’s averaged 25 from 22 matches. Lyon, Australia’s spin-bowling lynchpin for 15 years, is almost 39 and increasingly familiar with the physio’s table. He underwhelmed on his return from a major hamstring strain, and is one of the few players to face serious competition for his place from outside the squad with Corey Rocchiccioli name-checked frequently by the former internationals on TV duty in Darwin.