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Australia v Bangladesh, second Test, Cairns, starts 0000GMT Friday
Surprisingly, given the ease with which the top-ranked Australians disposed of cellar-dwellers Bangladesh in their first Test match last weekend at Darwin, it is the home side who are under pressure to perform again in the second Test starting at Cairns on Friday.
Victory is expected of the Australians, and sooner rather than later. While that is the case whenever the side takes the field nowadays, an acknowledgement of the outstanding record they have developed under leader Steve Waugh, who is now the most successful captain in Test cricket history, the fact remains that there was a rustiness about the Australians at Darwin.
Given their own demands for excellence, the Australians can be expected to make the most of the faster pitch that is anticipated in this match. Already, the bowlers have made their mark on the tourists. Dismissing them for 97 in the first innings on a slow pitch at Darwin, they will only need to ensure that they remember the fundamentals of bowling on a quicker strip to test the tourists yet again.
Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee will be the key players in this match as they attempt to utilise the conditions on offer and their control will determine how quickly the game is decided.
At the same time, there are pressures remaining on the batsmen. One of the problems with being so dominant over the opposition as in this series, is that there is not the chance to have two innings in matches. For players like Martin Love, who has a rare opportunity for international play as Damien Martyn recovers from his finger injury, that reduces chances for what is a crucial step in his career.
Love, dismissed first ball in Darwin, needs a score if he is to remain first cab off the rank in the event of other players suffering injuries or to force his way into the side if top players suffer a loss of form. While he is not batting in his preferred position of No. 3, where he has been such a significant operator for Queensland, the adjustment to No. 6 can only stand as an excuse for not playing to ability for so long.
Matthew Hayden missed out in Darwin and can be expected to cash in this time around. That merely increases the pressure on the touring attack to contain and subdue the Australians, something the best opposing attacks in the world have struggled to do.
Waugh has been very kind in his assessment of the tourists. In his newspaper column in The Australian today, he said: "Tempo, poise, purpose, intensity, body language, patience and self-belief are words that they need to use and put into practice. They have talent in all areas of the game, which will develop as they acquire match practice in pressure situations."
He cited Mohammad Ashraful as a player with a solid technique but lacking the knowledge of how to construct an innings, with the ability to understand the occasions when graft is required and when he can unleash the shots he undoubtedly has. That could describe all the batsmen in the side, who still seem to be getting out of the groove of batting in 50-overs matches. The ability to exercise patience and application to get through the hard phases of an innings still eludes the tourists and until that is realised the way is going to be tough for them.
The Australians, have been free with their advice for the tourists, but tomorrow it is back into the game's classroom, in the middle, for the toughest examination yet, in conditions more suited to the attacking Australian attitude. While there were some encouraging signs for the tourists in the first Test, not least the ability to get good batsmen out in the manner shown by fast-medium bowler Mushrafe Mortaza, it is certain that this is going to be a much more demanding experience for Bangladesh.
Teams:
Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Darren Lehmann, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Martin Love, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11, Glenn McGrath.
I wouldn't like to be a Bangladeshi batsman on Friday morning as the pitch looks green and lively.
Heavy rain over the last few weeks has hampered preparations.
And because of the high rainfall it has been impossible to keep the practice wickets dry.
Our training has been limited to hitting balls in one of the local indoor cricket centres.
While this has not been ideal preparation we are looking forward to the start of play at what looks like a sensational Test cricket venue.
With an outfield as flat and fresh as a manicured bowling green, the Bundaberg Rum Stadium looks like a very welcoming place to spend the next few days playing Test cricket.
We have played on a lot of Test grounds around the world that would run a long second to this stadium in Cairns.
With a scenic backdrop of lush green rain forest, it is no wonder it has won the right to host Test cricket.
As a popular tourist destination there are many reasons why Cricket Australia would want to continue promoting international cricket throughout the country.
All eyes will be upon the pitch in the morning, because regardless of the setting, the playing conditions will be a crucial factor in the overall success of this event.
Close inspection suggests the first day's play could be a tough battle for the team who is batting first.
Speaking to groundsman Kevin Mitchell he felt there was a little more moisture under the surface than he would have hoped for.
He expects a lively response from the pitch in the first session tomorrow.
Because of the extra rain in recent times it has been difficult to control the water level under the surface.
I reckon our fast bowlers are salivating at the thought of a new ball in their hands.
As an opening batsman the sight of a green top is never an overly happy one.
The saving grace for Matty Hayden and I is that whatever we have to endure, our opponents will always have an even tougher job.
After their experience against the world's best fast bowling trio in Darwin I would be guessing the Bangladeshi batsmen will be nervous.
In the subcontinent they would rarely, if ever, see pitches with any grass on the surface, let alone a consistent covering of green grass running over the entire length of the pitch.
I can only imagine what is going through the minds of the young Bangladeshi batsmen in their preparations for this second Test match.
Steve Waugh wants us to up the ante in this Test match.
While we were happy to comfortably in Darwin, he has urged us to finish off this series by playing even more positive cricket than in the first Test.
Hopefully a faster outfield and a more lively pitch than Darwin will allow us really to flex our muscles.
Brett Lee is expecting early success in the second Test against Bangladesh after finding a wicket likely to aid pace bowlers in Cairns.
After being shot out for 97 and 178 in last week's opening Test defeat in Darwin, the tourists will not relish the wicket for the Bundaberg Rum Stadium's first ever Test.
Groundsman Kevin Mitchell said recent wet weather had produced more grass than expected and there had not been enough sun to dry the wicket out.
The pitch will be cut again before the start, but it was almost certain to be far more lively than Darwin's slow track, which saw the hosts score slowly for much of their innings.
"I haven't seen a nice fast wicket for a while, but this looks as close to a green-top as possible," Lee said after inspecting the pitch.
Lee, who captured 3-23 in the first innings and 1-34 in the second in Australia's innings victory, said he would love to open the Australian attack
But the New South Wales pace man knows he will probably have to wait behind Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.
"I've made it a goal of mine to be the main bowler for Australia eventually," Lee said.
"Whether that happens in one, three or five years time ... I'm channelling all my emotions and my energy toward it in the long run.
"While it was good to bowl fast it still comes to taking wickets and I was pleased to be able to do both in Darwin."
Pacy track my A$$, Bangali batsman are opening can of whoop A$$ on the Aussie bowlers.
107/1
Hannan Sarkar 58
Habibul Bashar 16
The run rate is good too 3.65.
Originally posted by UMAIR316:
Pacy track my A$$, Bangali batsman are opening can of whoop A$$ on the Aussie bowlers.
107/1
Hannan Sarkar 58
Habibul Bashar 16
The run rate is good too 3.65.
Ahsan bhai, can you please broadcast the series.
Brillaint
This is good answer to big-mouth Aussies.
Incredible performance by Bangladeshi Batsmen, they certainly proved that they can bat under pressure to prove themselves. They played very well against feared aussie pace battery. Lack of experiecne cost them heavily against MacGill's legspin. Atleast this test will last until three days at the minimum. Three batsmen gotout in forty's and had they played more sensibly, ther score line would have make a muhch better reading. Still hats off to them.
Code:
Bangladesh 1st innings R B 4 6
Hannan Sarkar lbw b MacGill 76 136 9 0
Javed Omar c Gilchrist b Lee 26 58 3 0
Habibul Bashar c & b MacGill 46 79 6 0
Mohammad Ashraful c Gilchrist b Gillespie 0 5 0 0
Sanwar Hossain b MacGill 46 91 8 0
Alok Kapali c Love b MacGill 5 14 0 0
+Khaled Mashud c Love b Gillespie 44 115 8 0
*Khaled Mahmud lbw b MacGill 0 1 0 0
Tapash Baisya not out 21 44 1 0
Mashrafe Mortaza not out 7 7 1 0
Extras (lb 7, nb 11) 18
Total (8 wickets, 90 overs) 289
To Bat: Anwar Hossain Monir.
FoW: 1-47 (Javed Omar, 16.5 ov), 2-155 (Habibul Bashar, 43.3 ov),
3-156 (Mohammad Ashraful, 44.4 ov), 4-156 (Hannan Sarkar, 45.5 ov),
5-170 (Alok Kapali, 49.6 ov), 6-230 (Sanwar Hossain, 74.3 ov),
7-230 (Khaled Mahmud, 74.4 ov), 8-281 (Khaled Mashud, 87.3 ov).
Bowling O M R W
McGrath 16 2 51 0
Gillespie 24 6 58 2
Lee 18 1 88 1 (10nb)
MacGill 24 9 77 5
Waugh 5 3 4 0
Lehmann 3 1 4 0
I couldn't believe what i was reading. 289/7. I hope they can reach the 300 mark before getting all out. That will be a moral victory for the Bengalis.
Everyone has the right to be stupid. Some people abuse the privilege - Joseph Stallin.
I am so proud of my Bangali Brothers . Very Well Done Indeed.
It seems like a big slap to those who were advocating that Bangladesh's TEST Status should be taken back.Even on this forum I was probably the only one who opposed this idea. They can only get better from here. I hope ICC should also appreciate it and they should spend some money on building infrastructure for cricket in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi Cricketers and its fans deserve it.
The biggest slap in the Aussies' face was that they had to actually bring out Waugh and Lehmann to stop the unexpected extended run of the Bengali 1st innings. They considered them a Test team that could be finished off with just 4 regular bowlers. Well done Bangladesh.
Originally posted by fair_&_balance:
If any so called "ESTABLISHED TEST NATIONS" can play this kinda cricket they would be proud of themselves.
AI agree Bangladesh played well but lets just stick to that. From Bangldesh's point of view this was a promising start to day one. I dont think a score like that would make India, S.Africa or Pakistan proud. I agree its not a bad score but for established sides its not an outstanding score.
On a seperate not I think right now Bangladehs would be really missing the services of some quality bowlers. Their batsman had done their job now if the bowlers could match them I think they can put Aussies under a lot of pressure. I dont know if they can pull a win from here but it seems like this would be an interesting match.
AI agree Bangladesh played well but lets just stick to that. From Bangldesh's point of view this was a promising start to day one. I dont think a score like that would make India, S.Africa or Pakistan proud. I agree its not a bad score but for established sides its not an outstanding score.
Humm... can you find out how many times India ,pakistan or any other teams have finished day 1 of a TEST match against Aussies on a better socre in last 4-5 years.
Humm... can you find out how many times India ,pakistan or any other teams have finished day 1 of a TEST match against Aussies on a better socre in last 4-5 years.
If you mean better then 298 I'd say no one. But that is the problem with Bangladesh. None of their batsmen have the temprament to play long innings. They play a test like a one day too. In the last match at one point they werre scoring at more then 4 per over. Ofcourse there is nothing wrong with that when Lara, Inzi or Sachin are doing it cause those players all capable of playing long innings. While Bangladesh have scored 298. It's safe to say they will get all out in the 300-320 region or maybe less. Australia will bat tomorrow, and unless Bangladesh bowl as well as they batted, Aussies will bat tomorrow and the day after and give Banglasdeh a lead of 200-250. Now they will still have two more days to bowl out Bangladesh. And even if Bangladesh cross the lead they wont go too far and Aussies can knock that off pretty quick. I'd rather have the scroe 200/3 compared to 298/8.
Ofcourse I am not taking anything away from Bangladesh, they were new at this and I have to admit I wasnt expecting such performance from them. Well played and I hope they keep it up.
. Very Well Done Indeed. 
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