"HASANNN…That’s out.." Phil Simmons’ voice echoed around the practice area at the Marrara Oval just three days before Bangladesh’s first Test in Australia since 2003. The Bangladesh coach had just witnessed Hasan Mahmud attempt an expansive shot with poor execution in the nets. His admonishing tone was justified, considering he had only a few minutes earlier yelled out, "I want all of you to give me 40-50 balls each in the match," at the tailenders who he had intentionally asked to pad up first for a hit. He even summoned Hasan for a quick headmasterly chat before allowing his young fast bowler to have another go. On Friday evening, that tough love from coach Simmons proved to be worth every bit as Bangladesh’s hero with the ball on Day One produced an equally heroic performance with the bat to push his team into a spot of complete dominance in the opening Test of the home season for Australia.
To really understand just how vital the 76 deliveries Hasan faced late on Friday were to the visitors’ overall cause, one must look at the moment he walked out to bat. It was the classic Australian cauldron setting, with pumped up fast bowlers buoyed by a string of wickets and a packed slip cordon. The momentum in the Test match was on the cusp of turning Australia’s way for the first time, as Bangladesh had lost three massive wickets for 11 runs. Though still over 100 runs ahead, this mini-collapse threatened to let the home team back into the Test via the backdoor, especially with Pat Cummins at his rip-roaring best. Even though it did not start promisingly for Hasan, as he edged and played-and-missed his way out of danger, the youngster’s gumption and his coach’s orders started to come to the fore as he held off the Australian charge.
Hasan ended up putting on an unbeaten stand of 43 in 147 deliveries with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the third longest of the Bangladesh innings at this stage. While the practical purpose it served was keeping the Australians on the field for much longer in the sapping heat, this was also part of the pure defiance very rarely seen from an opposition team on these shores, let alone one that has been kept away from here for nearly two-and-a-half decades. The Mehidy-Hasan stand meant that Bangladesh have now won five out of six sessions in the match, with the post-tea period on Day Two potentially shared by the two teams. This means Australia are yet to get their noses into the contest and have continued to play catch-up from the time Jake Weatherald fell within two minutes of the first drinks break on Thursday morning.
For all the talk around the career-defining 12 months ahead for Pat Cummins and his team, the last two days have thrown up newer questions about the make-up of their team and some of their personnel. With the surface at the Marrara Oval offering next to nothing for the bowlers on Friday, credit must be given to the world-class pace troika, who ran in all day and kept at the Bangladeshis. It was their relentless effort coupled with the sudden burst of energy that the second new-ball provided that even gave the Australians some respite at the start of the third session. However, they could not break open the game like they have a reputation of doing on home soil, even in the face of the bluster and bravado of the Bazballers from England last year. Bangladesh’s methodical and old-school approach to breaking them down, through discipline and partnership batting, provided the perfect blueprint as to what can be done against this side. Not since the 2018-19 summer, when India put the famed quartet to the sword by amassing big totals repeatedly, has a team looked so much in command with the bat as Bangladesh have over the last day and a bit. As Australia looks toward an away tour in South Africa in October, the Kiwis will be watching closely as they prepare for their own four-Test tour later this year, especially given their own batting resources and approach. This Bangladesh performance is shining a spotlight on their own progress as a Test team while throwing shade on the current standing of the Australian side.
