Believe it or not, there was just one fifty in the entire second Test between Australia and Bangladesh. The match lasted less than two days, with the home side taking the first-ever Test at Mackay by an innings and 51 runs. Try to remember the last time a team won a contest by an innings despite scoring a little over 200. The pitch at the Great Barrier Reef Arena had plenty of bounce, and the Bangladeshis, who had come into the game following a historic win in the first Test at Darwin, could only manage scores of 64 and 95 with Mitchell Starc taking a 10-for.
Anyway, going back to our topic… There was just one batsman who scored a fifty in the low-scoring match. It was Cameron Green who scored 67 off 105 balls to ensure that the Aussies got a significant 146-run first-innings lead. Green is often criticised for not doing enough either with bat or ball, but in the second Test, he really played a great innings in the context of the game. After the shameful defeat in Darwin, largely due to poor batting, the Aussies needed someone to put his hand up, and Green did just that. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins acknowledged Green’s effort with the bat after the match ended on Sunday. This should give Green a lot of heart.
“Green looked in total command, held our innings together. Hopefully, he can take a lot of confidence from that. We know how good he is,” he said.
“A lot of things went right these couple of days, and a lot of things went wrong last week. We needed to bounce back, and it was a great couple of days for the lads. I thought everyone was sharp. It was the opposite last week. If you get a really good first hour or two, it can set up the rest of the match.”
Meanwhile, Starc acknowledged that the pitch played a big role in the result that they got. “A much better week. We knew we were not at our best in Darwin. Bangladesh played really well. Take nothing away from them there. What we expected from ourselves this week is what we got, particularly with the ball on a wicket that aided us with the ball,” he said.
