Australia will come away from the Bangladesh Tests with a few questions to answer ahead of the home season: the wicket-keeper’s spot, the batting line-up, and the frequent batting slides
Brydon Coverdale07-Sep-20175:04
Chappell: Big change for Lyon is his self-belief
Nathan Lyon? Big tick.David Warner? Big tick.Usman Khawaja? Matthew Wade? The search for a No.6? The continuation of batting collapses? Question-marks, all of them.And the results? A cross in one column, a tick in the other. Disappointment overall, but relief in Chittagong after the loss in Mirpur.Such was the wash-up for Australia after their series in Bangladesh concluded with a seven-wicket win in Chittagong to level the scoreline 1-1. The Australians now head to India for a one-day campaign, after which they must refocus on Test cricket once more ahead of the home Ashes. And they will likely do so as the fifth-ranked Test team in the world after falling one place in Bangladesh.”We would have much preferred 2-0 but it’s nice to get over the line here and have a 1-1 draw,” captain Steven Smith said. “I still think we have a lot of improvement in us. We probably let ourselves down at times throughout this Test match. I thought our first-innings bowling was very good to restrict them. Our first-innings batting, obviously the partnership between Petey [Handscomb] and Davey was fantastic.”And then we got ourselves into one of our collapses that we’ve had. I think we’ve had 15 collapses in our last 14 games, our analyst told me yesterday. That’s not good enough for an Australian cricket team. That’s something we really need to work on. We need to rectify that come the next series and the Ashes.”This was the fifth consecutive Test series in Asia that Australia have failed to win – their last series victory on the continent was in Sri Lanka in 2011 – but they remain strong at home. That dichotomy will leave Australia’s selectors wondering how much stock to put in individual performances during this series, with the Ashes around the corner.One of the question-marks surrounds wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who was restored to the team after the Hobart Test debacle of last summer as a replacement for Peter Nevill. Wade’s batting was seen as the key reason for his recall – he had made two Test hundreds during his first stint in the side – but he did not reach double-figures in three innings in Bangladesh, and has made only one fifty since replacing Nevill.However, Wade performed some admirable wicket-keeping feats during this series, and in Chittagong became the first Australian in more than 60 years to complete three stumpings in a Test. The selectors will have no shortage of wicket-keeping options when the Ashes squad is announced with Nevill and the emerging South Australia gloveman Alex Carey both contenders.”I think Matty knows himself … he came out to a few of the guys the other day and said he needed more runs,” Smith said. “He’s open and honest about that. He’s going to go back, we’ve got the one-dayers and then he’ll go back and play Shield cricket and hopefully get a few big scores and keep really well and keep putting his name up.”We really love him around the Australian team, he provides a lot out on the field for us, great energy and good chat, which is something that we need. He provides a lot there but hopefully he can continue to improve and put some performances on the board back home and keep putting his name back there.”Glenn Maxwell was picked in Asian conditions for his back-up spin, but will the Australian selectors opt for a pace option in his place in the home matches?•Associated PressOne name that is almost certain to feature in the first Ashes Test is that of Khawaja, who was axed after the Mirpur Test. It marked the third time that Khawaja had been dropped mid-series in Asia, where he has struggled for runs, but his form in Australia – where he averages 63.73 – should mean he slots straight back in at No.3 at the Gabba.”I think he’s certainly got a very good record at home,” Smith said. “We’d love for him to go back and have a really good domestic one-day series and then score some really big runs in Shield cricket and just make it a given for him. The way he plays in Australia is really suited for those conditions so hopefully he can make some big scores and spend some time in the middle and then hopefully have a big summer for us.”Then there is also the question of who plays at No.6. Glenn Maxwell made the position his own in India earlier this year by scoring his maiden Test century. He may get first opportunity there in the Ashes, but all seven of Maxwell’s Test appearances have come in Asia, where he offers a useful extra spin-bowling option, and it is possible the selectors will want a seaming allrounder at home.”I’m not sure, we’ve still got some cricket in front of us, some one-dayers in India and obviously three Shield games back home before the first Test of the Ashes,” Smith said. “So, perhaps if someone really jumps out of the pack, you never know.”There were positives for Australia out of this series, though – most notably the joint Player-of-the-Series winners, Warner and Lyon. Warner, like Khawaja, embarked on this tour with a disappointing record in Asia, but his consecutive hundreds in the second innings in Mirpur and the first innings in Chittagong were among the finest he has ever produced.”I thought Davey was magnificent,” Smith said. “Obviously after the first innings he changed his game and found a style to play in these conditions. And the energy in his feet and the way he used his feet were spectacular. So, hopefully he can continue to do that in these conditions and continue to dominate.”Smith also hailed Bangladesh’s play over the two Tests, which marked the first Tests between the countries since 2006. “Eleven years is a long time,” Smith said. “I think the way they played over here was exceptional. They obviously beat us in the first Test and challenged us again out here. If we get another opportunity to play against them, that’d be great.”
