Firstly, I have to give credit to Australia for the way they bounced back. It was a strong performance, and it was led by the bowling. If I am being brutally honest, though, I would not say the same thing about their batting. That is still an area of concern for Australia, and there are certainly issues in that batting line-up that they will need to solve.
The Australian pace attack, which had been so much talked about and so much wanted, looked close to its best. That was a major positive for them, and it was the biggest reason behind the way they were able to bounce back. With the ball, they looked much stronger, and that gives them something to build on. But I still think they have questions to answer with the bat.
Cam Green was one of the players who came out of the Test match with more credibility as a batter. I thought he showed enough to strengthen his position, particularly because he seems to have made that middle-order position his own. But beyond that, I think Australia still have one or two problems to address.
I would be very, very surprised if Marnus Labuschagne keeps his place. I think the time has come for Australia to look elsewhere. That is something I have been thinking about, and I think the batting line-up needs a change at the top.
I also feel, and I have felt this for a long time, that Travis Head is better used in the middle order. I am not saying that simply because of this series. I genuinely think his ideal position in Test cricket is No. 5. The problem for Australia is that Cam Green now seems to have sealed that spot and made it his best position.
That creates another complication. It would be a little low for Travis Head to go down to No. 6, so Australia are going to have to work out what the best combination is. They have to find a way of putting their best players into their best positions, while also solving the problems at the top of the order.
I have said for a while now that Josh Inglis is a player who can come into the side. Maybe he can bat at No. 3. Australia have to find that top three somehow. Renshaw will get a run, one has to assume. I felt for Jake Weatherald being dropped after that first Test match, because it was difficult to see him left out after what had happened. But now that Australia have picked Renshaw, they must give him a run.
If Australia move Travis Head into the middle order, though, that complicates things even further because they then have to find two openers. That is the conundrum the Australian selectors have to solve. They need to work out the best way of putting together that top three.
Once they get beyond that, I think things look much better. They have Alex Carey at No. 6, they obviously have Steve Smith, they have Cam Green, and they have Beau Webster. That middle and late-middle order is looking okay to me. The real issue is the top order, and that is where I think Australia are going to have to reshuffle.
So, I would be surprised if Marnus Labuschagne keeps his place for the next Test match. There has also been some debate about Nathan Lyon, but I do not really get that one personally. If it is a genuinely green, seaming pitch and there is absolutely no chance of using a spinner in the Test match, then obviously you can understand the argument.
But if you get what I would call a normal Test match pitch, then I would always play Nathan Lyon. He is a class act and gives Australia the balance
that they always need. I understand that it can be tempting to bring in Scott Boland, because he is also a class act, but I would be wary of dropping Nathan Lyon unless the conditions dictate that decision.
So, that is Australia for me. They have bounced back, and they deserve credit for doing that, particularly because the bowling was so strong. But they still have problems, and they have to sort out that batting line-up very, very quickly.
For Bangladesh, the reality is much harsher. I thought it was a disappointing performance from them. They had set their standards a lot higher in that first Test match, and they could not back it up in the same way in the next one. I do not think anyone was genuinely expecting them to produce another win, but the bigger disappointment was the performance itself.
Having said that, I had championed Shoriful Islam to come back into the side even though he had missed the first Test, and I thought Bangladesh did the right thing by bringing him back. It would have been very easy for them to simply pick the same side that had won a historic Test match. They could have kept the same team and been emotional about that victory.
Instead, they picked what they believed was their best side. That is what really excites me about Bangladesh moving forward.
Shoriful brings something with the ball. Obviously, Hasan Mahmud bowled really well in the first Test match, and then they have Nahid Rana, who had been unavailable through injury. I think that is a really good top three for Bangladesh with the ball. That is exactly what they need to keep providing some potency with the new ball.
Their faster bowlers can help them perform and get points away from home. I think Bangladesh’s stock in Test cricket has certainly risen over the last couple of Test matches. There is something there for them to build on.
But the application with the bat is now going to be something they really need to focus on. With the ever-changing landscape of the game, many batting units struggle when it comes to application and wearing down a bowling unit in the way that we used to see.
The skills these days are perhaps viewed slightly differently. But making the bowlers work really hard for their success is not something we see quite as much as we used to. I think that will be a real challenge for Bangladesh.
They need that batting unit to come good. Overall, though, I think they will obviously take a lot of satisfaction from their performance across those first two Test matches. Their stock has risen, and there are positives for them moving forward.
My overriding view is that Australia deserve great credit for the way they bounced back, particularly through their bowlers. At the same time, their batting remains a problem that needs to be addressed quickly. For Bangladesh, the challenge is different. Their bowling has given them plenty to be encouraged about, but their batting needs greater application if they are going to keep moving forward in Test cricket.


