Australia are staring down a historic and humiliating innings defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin, with the tourists' bowlers dismantling the home side's middle and lower order on day four of the Test match. Cameron Green has been virtually the only Australian capable of mounting meaningful resistance, but wickets have continued to fall at the other end as Bangladesh close in on a remarkable victory.
At the time of writing, Australia were still 21 runs short of making Bangladesh bat again, having already lost their eighth wicket — a position that would have seemed barely conceivable at the start of the match. The collapse has unfolded with a grim inevitability, driven largely by one exceptional bowling performance.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz the destroyer
Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been the central figure in Bangladesh's push for victory, returning figures of 3 for 27 in a spell of sustained quality that has repeatedly beaten Australian batters through a combination of sharp turn, subtle variation and clever use of the rough outside the footmarks.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey never appeared comfortable at the crease, edging Hasan Mahmud through the slip cordon twice before Mehidy ended his innings with a classical off-break that drew an edge through to the keeper. It was a dismissal that summed up Australia's afternoon — uncertain, tentative and ultimately undone by high-class spin bowling.
Beau Webster managed a single boundary before becoming another of Mehidy's victims. The delivery that removed him was a slightly quicker off-break that drifted into the right-hander and then skidded through to flick the top of the off stump, leaving Webster with no answer. It was the kind of ball that separates good spinners from great ones — a delivery that demanded absolute precision and received it.
Australian captain Pat Cummins arrived at the crease with the situation already desperate. He offered some resolute defence, turning deliveries through midwicket and holding firm against both Mehidy and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, but his resistance was short-lived. Mehidy eventually drew a thick edge from Cummins's bat that cannoned into the pad and was snapped up by the fielder stationed close on the leg side — a wicket that left Bangladesh able to almost taste victory.
Green's fighting half-century provides only glimmer
Amid the wreckage, Cameron Green has batted with a solidity and composure that has set him entirely apart from his teammates. The all-rounder brought up his half-century — his first Test fifty in 13 innings, and his first since Australia's tour of the West Indies more than a year ago — with a crisp drive back down the ground that captured in one shot everything that has been missing from Australia's batting throughout this innings.
Green was on 64 when Cummins departed, and Mitchell Starc arrived at the crease to join him with the situation beyond desperate. Starc, at least, made a confident start, cutting his first delivery through the point region for a boundary. Whether that partnership can mount any kind of meaningful rearguard remains deeply uncertain.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has been an animated presence in the field, at one point racing after an inside edge himself after showing visible frustration at his fielders' efforts — a moment that illustrated just how much this potential victory means to the visiting side.
Historic upset looms for Bangladesh
Should Bangladesh complete the victory, it would represent one of the most significant results in their Test cricket history. The side has produced memorable upsets before on the subcontinent, but claiming an innings win on Australian soil — even at a venue as spin-friendly as Darwin — would mark a genuinely new frontier for the country's cricket program.
For Australia, the questions will be severe. Beaten comprehensively in both innings, exposed by quality spin bowling, and unable to post a competitive total in conditions that Bangladesh clearly understood better, the home side will face searching scrutiny over their preparation and selection for this Test. The scale of the defeat, if confirmed, will fuel debate about Australia's ability to handle spin in home conditions that deviate from the traditional pace and bounce of their major venues.
Green has done his reputation no harm whatsoever in a difficult situation — his fighting innings a reminder of the talent and temperament that makes him one of Australian cricket's most valuable assets. But one man's resistance was never going to be enough, and as Mehidy continues to probe from around the wicket, Bangladesh appear only one or two wickets away from completing a victory that will be remembered for a very long time.
Play continues in Darwin, with Australia's last recognised batting pair — Green and Starc — their final obstacle to an innings defeat. Bangladesh need just two more wickets to seal the win without having to face another delivery in the match.
