Whispers of four quicks. A pitch made of Gabba clay. A one-time prodigy now returning as a mature father-of-two. Australian redemption. Marnus Labuschagne.
Even if the venue and time-of-year for this weekend’s Bangladesh rematch are anything but familiar, many of the themes dominating the build-up to Test cricket’s arrival in Mackay certainly are. And amid all the noise, there is an Aussie side sticking to what they know.
Australia XI for second Test: Matthew Renshaw, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
On Friday, Pat Cummins held his pre-match media conference in a reconfigured Australian rules football changeroom. The memos printed on yellow magnetic notes and stuck to a whiteboard in his eyeline (‘Play to game plan for 4 quarters’, ‘Every member at training accounted for’, ‘Must win’) were all worthy instructions – though surely less insightful than ones imparted by rugby league coach Todd Payten, the North Queensland Cowboys man who has shadowed the team in full kit this week.
Cummins will hope the series’ relocation from Darwin’s tropical, humid dry season to the milder climates of coastal Queensland marks a return to regular service after a nine-wicket defeat that brought delight to Australia’s cricketing rivals the world over.
“It’s funny – I think if we play really well and we lose, you feel like you do need to do some soul searching,” Cummins told reporters on Friday. “In some ways, I certainly felt like we didn’t play anywhere near our best, and they played really well – and they deserved to win.”
Cummins has credits in the bank. His side had won 11 of 13 Tests before last week. But he will know that his suggestion that this was a blip, not a dip, is one he can fall back on only once. In the past eight years, Australia have lost consecutive Tests on only one (in India in 2023), while they have not been defeated in back-to-back Tests in a home series in a decade.
Lahore 2022; Delhi ’23; The Oval ’23; MCG ’24-25; now Mackay ’26. As far as consequential Tests of the Cummins era, this one is up there.
“I think it’s going back to when we play well,” Australia’s captain continued. “Fortunately, we’ve got a decent body of work to look back on. I thought our prep was excellent, so I think everyone’s in pretty good nick. It’s just about translating that form into actually good results.”
It was little surprise then that selectors have stuck with Nathan Lyon (despite Cummins revealing they considered dumping him for Scott Boland), as well as Labuschagne. Both have been notable presences at Australia’s practice sessions this week.
Lyon spent much of the week bowling off one step landing balls in a roughly 30 square centimetre sized box on a practice wicket, its lines formed by thick yellow ribbons. He bowled either to assistant coach James Franklin, or with Franklin shadow-batting while Alex Carey kept wicket. The off-spinner seldom missed the box, focusing intently on Carey’s right glove as his aim point when the keeper was present.
The characteristics of the Marrara Stadium drop-in surface did not suit him. Only once before has Lyon bowled as many overs as he did in Darwin (36) for so paltry a return (1-125) on home soil. Ball-tracking data suggests no Australian venue has produced less bounce over the past three seasons, which may explain why Bangladesh’s shorter top-order were largely untroubled against a veteran who ordinarily thrives from the carry of his home pitches.
Even allowing for the off-season conditions, it should be a different story in Mackay. Local curator Peter Kazakoff spent nearly two decades as an understudy to the Gabba’s legendary groundsman, Kevin Mitchell Junior, before taking the top job at Harrup Park.
“That’s what we’re aiming for, definitely – a lot of pace,” said Kazakoff. “You want the ball to come through really nicely. We’ve got the same sort of clay as the Gabba, so we’re expecting similar characteristics to that.”
The unusually blustery southeasterly will not hurt Lyon’s drift either, and the wind might have been a factor in Australia electing not to go all-out pace – someone has to bowl into it.
Labuschagne too has been ever-present in the nets. There were several discussions with coach Andrew McDonald and batting adviser Michael di Venuto, particularly on Wednesday when the right-hander continued batting for close to half-an-hour after the rest of his teammates had finished training.
Cummins, asked about Australia’s No.3 the following day, caught himself when beginning his answer with the phrase “runs on the board”. After making 1 and 31 in Darwin, Labuschagne is averaging 25.23 over his last 42 innings since his last Test ton, close to 20 shy of his career mark of 44.16.
“The last couple of months, I know it’s only training and centre wickets and match simulations, but I thought he’s been as sharp as he has for a long time,” Cummins said of Labuschagne.
“That’s me bowling at him and getting that feedback. It looks like he’s really getting himself back into the ball, putting pressure back on the bowler, making it really difficult to get (him) out.
“As a bowler, it feels like the margins are really small when someone like Marnus or Steve (Smith) are at their best form. I’ve felt that the last couple of months.
“Last week was a bit of a blip. Our message to Marnus is, ‘You don’t need to reinvent the wheel after last week’. Trust the work that he’s put in the last six months, because I think he’s in a really good place.”
But considering Jake Weatherald has been discarded having passed fifty only one time fewer than Labuschagne since the start of last summer’s Ashes, it is clear the latter is now on notice.
Weatherald was the fifth opener Australia have discarded or demoted since David Warner’s retirement two-and-a-half years ago. Matthew Renshaw, an avid Harry Potter fan, must show Warner has not left a curse on the position like the one that plagued Defence against the Dark Arts professors in the legendary fantasy series.
Renshaw last pulled on the Baggy Green in 2023 and has not opened in a Test since 2018. The 30-year-old has openly spoken of the challenges he has faced in pushing to win back the spot he showed so much promise in when he burst onto the scene a decade ago. There is a sense now he is a more balanced person, on and off the field.
“He’s been really impressive,” said Cummins. “Had some great off-season tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh recently with white-ball (teams). He looks in good nick and had a really good (Sheffield) Shield campaign last season.
“We just want his best. I think some of the chat about ‘Renners’ in the past is it can look different from day to day. When you get to the back half of your career as a batter, you want to really know what you look like at your best, and I think he does that.
“That’s the hope with Renners is (to) keep bringing your best version every day, be nice and sharp, putting a bit of pressure back on bowlers.”
So too do Cummins’ other charges need to find the best version of themselves this week. The consequences will be significant if they do not.
NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series
First Test: Bangladesh won by nine wickets
Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Musfik Hasan, Litton Das, Shoriful Islam
