Pat Cummins hints at team changes after Australia’s shock Test defeat to Bangladesh

Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted Bangladesh outplayed his team in all departments after their historic Test win in Darwin. He hinted at possible changes ahead of the second Test while praising Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood for their individual performances

Darwin: Australia captain Pat Cummins has kept the door open for any changes to the team for the second Test match against Bangladesh, following their drubbing in Darwin on Sunday. Cummins heaped praise on Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win on Australian soil after the hosts set up a paltry total of 57 in the second innings, which the visitors chased down with nine wickets in hand.

He also pointed out where it all went wrong while hinting that there might be changes in the team for the second game, which gets underway from August 22 in Mackay.

---

Speaking after the nine-wicket loss, Cummins pointed out that their catapulting on Day 1 was the key reason behind this loss. “Probably that day one. You know, I thought our preparation was pretty much spot on. I thought it was excellent. So, no excuses. They played really well. I thought the day-one wicket was doing a little bit early, but obviously got to try and find a way to bat a little bit longer than we did, and then, just couldn’t penetrate with the ball. But I thought they played really well,” he told broadcasters here after the defeat.

The Aussie skipper then hinted that there might be changes in the pipeline after a full-strength Australian side lost to Bangladesh for the first time at home. “I think every time there’s a game like this, you always kind of look at your match-ups and your make-up of the team for the next one. But we only just finished, so we’ll think about it. We’re pretty good at bouncing back, so no doubt the batters and every group will get together and have a good think about this one and where we can improve,” he added.

The long formats’ skipper also reserved special praise for the visiting Asian side, stating that they ‘outplayed them in all facets’ before taking out the positives from the loss. “(On Bangladesh having played well) Yeah, they did. I think they outplayed us in all facets, really. I thought they were really patient and quite disciplined. And, yeah, once we were behind, it was really hard to get back,” he said.

There were only a handful of positives for the hosts in their recent drubbing. All-rounder Cameron Green scored his first Test hundred after two-and-a-half years, while returning from his injury, Josh Hazlewood picked a six-wicket haul in the first innings to complete his 300 wickets in the red-ball international format. “Josh, he hasn’t had a great run for injuries the last couple of years, but he’s one of the hardest workers and just showed his class. And, you know, didn’t have too much in it, seam-wise, still picking up six really important wickets. So he was fantastic,” Cummins said.

Green stood up tall with his gritty 104 in the second innings but did not find partners for Australia to mount a comeback as they were bowled out for 284 in the second innings, setting up a meagre target of 57 against the visitors. “And then Greeny, again, I thought, the tempo of this innings showed how good he is. Yeah, just needed a couple of us to hang around with him, but it was fantastic,” he concluded.