“Not ideal”: Cummins on Australia’s horror Bangladesh defeat

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has admitted his side was not near its best after incurring a shock nine-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the First Test of their two Test series.

In the visitors' first Test match on Australian soil since 2003, the Tigers roared to the occasion at Marrara Stadium in Darwin.

After losing the coin toss, Bangladesh, led by pace bowler Hasan Mahmud, put the hosts under pressure from the get-go, bowling Australia out for 198 runs.

It was then followed by a stronger batting performance, with Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Najmul Hossain Shanto providing the Tigers with a healthy lead, which saw Australia only able to set a target of 57.

That was easily chased in 14.2 overs with only one loss.

This sees Bangladesh claim their second Test victory against the World No.1s in the seven Tests they have played one another, with this being their first Test win in Australia.

Reflecting on the result in a one-on-one interview with SEN Cricket’s Bharat Sundaresan on Day 4, Cummins thought Australia were behind the eight ball from the very start, with the visitors unrelenting in their efforts.

“Yeah, not ideal,” he explained on SEN Cricket.

“We weren't anywhere near our best this week across both areas really.

“I thought Bangladesh played exceptionally well, so once we kind of got a little bit behind, it was really hard to wrestle that back for the rest of the game.”

Following the defeat, attention has quickly turned to what the XI will look like for the Second Test next week, with a particular focus towards the top six to avoid a series defeat.

While the New South Welshman acknowledged that it was too early to tell what their plans for Mackay will be, any defeat, especially one of this nature, can prompt conversations around changing the line-up.

“Not sure, I only just finished,” Cummins said.

“I haven't chatted to the selectors in-depth yet; there's lots of people around who are ready to go, so I don't know what their selectors will think.

“But anytime you lose or don't play at your best, you're always kind of thinking there might be changes.

“But again, it's pretty early, so take the next day or two to assess and see what the best makeup might be.”

Australia will look to avoid a series defeat as it concludes its two-Test series against Bangladesh next Saturday at Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay.

SEN will have live coverage of the match from 9am AEST on August 22 through the SEN app on SEN Fanatic.