The optimism surrounding Bangladesh following Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s century on the opening day of their three-day warm-up match in Darwin largely evaporated by the close of the second day. Despite a disciplined bowling effort from Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed, the Cricket Australia (CA) XI managed to build a 92-run lead. As the tourists began their second innings late in the day, their top order faltered once again, leaving them at 19 for 2 at stumps, still trailing by 73 runs.
Hasan Mahmud, fresh from his stint in county cricket, spearheaded the attack with figures of 4 for 42. He struck early in the day by bowling Josh Philippe, while Taskin Ahmed provided valuable support by claiming two wickets. However, the rest of the pace attack—Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, and Mushfiq Hasan—struggled with consistency. Miraz added to his batting heroics by taking two wickets, but the CA XI eventually posted 355 runs in 87.2 overs, securing a 92-run first-innings advantage.
The day began promisingly for the visitors, who had reduced the CA XI to 139 for 5 after breaking a 73-run partnership between Curtis Patterson and Jack Clayton. Hasan Mahmud claimed the wicket of Patterson, who scored 53, while Ebadot removed the aggressive Clayton for 48 off 58 balls. The momentum shifted, however, when Teague Wyllie and Jake Doran combined for a 157-run sixth-wicket stand that frustrated the Bangladeshi bowlers for over 35 overs. After Doran departed for 76 and Miraz bowled Jarrad Wadia for a duck, Wyllie anchored the lower order to push the total past 350. The 22-year-old, who has a first-class average of 20.79, scored his maiden first-class century, finishing with 130 off 177 balls before being dismissed by Khaled.
Injury concerns also hampered Bangladesh, as Taijul Islam did not bowl due to a finger injury sustained while batting. Although the injury is not considered serious, the team opted for caution. Mushfiq Hasan was brought in as a replacement fielder and bowled four overs, though he proved expensive. With Nahid Rana already absent, Taijul’s limited participation has added to the team’s concerns regarding their pace attack depth.
Bangladesh’s second innings began poorly, losing opener Shadman Islam for 6 runs in the third over after he was caught at fine leg while attempting a pull shot. Mominul Haque, who failed to capitalize on the practice opportunity, was bowled for 6 off the final ball of the day. Tanzid Hasan, who recorded a duck in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 7. With Bangladesh heading into their first Test series in Australia since 2003, the final day of this warm-up match serves as a critical test for their batsmen to find form, particularly after a first-innings performance where only Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 37 provided support to Miraz’s century.
The CA XI first innings concluded at 355, featuring contributions from Constas (1), Kellaway (0), Patterson (53), Philippe (24), Clayton (48), Wyllie (130), Doran (76), Wadia (0), Jacobs (10), Rockliff (5), and Krohn (0*). Bangladesh’s bowling figures included Taskin (15-4-56-2), Hasan (19-5-42-4), Khaled (12.2-0-52-1), Ebadot (13-1-66-1), Miraz (20-3-77-2), Mushfiq (4-0-38-0), and Mominul (4-0-20-0). In the second innings, Thompson (3-0-10-2) and Jacobs (2-1-9-0) did the damage for the CA XI.
