24/08/2026
Despite Bangladesh’s disappointing performance in the Mackay Test, chief selector Habibul Bashar believes the team can take considerable pride from their two-match series against Australia, describing the 1-1 draw as a “huge achievement” for Bangladesh cricket.
“It’s certainly a huge achievement. If you follow not just us, but also people around the whole world who follow Bangladesh cricket, everyone is viewing this achievement very highly,” Bashar told reporters at Mackay Airport on Monday before departing for Bangladesh.
Bashar, however, cautioned against assuming that Bangladesh had already established themselves as a top Test side.
“I don’t think I can say right now that, as a Test team, we have become a very good side. I think we still have a long way to go. But we have managed to make a statement of our own.”
Bangladesh suffered a crushing innings-and-51-run defeat in Mackay, with their batting collapsing twice as they were bowled out for just 64 and 95. The defeat came inside two days and exposed the team’s struggles against Australia’s pace attack.
Bangladesh’s bowlers had initially given the visitors hope. Led by Shoriful Islam, who claimed seven wickets in the first innings, they dismissed Australia for 210. However, Bangladesh’s batters were unable to withstand the Australian quicks, allowing the hosts to complete a comprehensive victory.
Despite the heavy defeat, Bangladesh secured a historic 1-1 series draw after winning the opening Test in Darwin by nine wickets. Their performance in Darwin was dominant, with Bangladesh winning all 11 sessions to record one of their most impressive Test victories, particularly given that it came against Australia on home soil.
Bashar said the result was also significant in the context of Bangladesh’s current World Test Championship campaign.
Bangladesh are fourth in the WTC standings with 55.56 percentage points, having won three of their six Tests and drawn one.
“It’s not just the Australia Tests. If you look at our previous Test matches against Pakistan, or the Tests before that, we have been winning Tests regularly. If you look at the statistics since 2000 and compare them with those of the last two years, you have to say that Bangladesh Test cricket has come a long way.
“We are now in a very good position in the World Test Championship. We have five very important Tests coming up, so let’s see what happens,” he said.
Bashar also said Bangladesh had achieved one of their key objectives from the tour: earning greater respect.
“Before coming here, we spoke about wanting to return home with a certain level of respect. I think we are able to return home with that respect,” he said.
The historic victory in Darwin had naturally raised expectations ahead of the second Test, but Bashar said Bangladesh knew they were facing the world’s top-ranked Test side.
“The expectations were definitely high. We had created an opportunity to win the series. But we also knew that Australia are the number one Test team and that they would play this match with everything they had.
“Obviously, losing 2-0 [for Australia] would have been a bit too much. But we definitely could have played better cricket. We did create opportunities.”
Bashar also acknowledged the influence of the toss and the challenging conditions in Mackay. The pitch offered significant assistance to the pace bowlers, making batting difficult for both teams.
“You have no control over the toss -- you can win it or lose it -- but it doesn’t always make such a big difference. Even the Australian batsmen found it difficult to bat here. If we had bowled first, perhaps it could have been a different story,” he said.
According to Bashar, Australia took a calculated gamble by preparing a pace-friendly surface at the Great Barrier Reef Arena. While the decision ultimately benefited the hosts after they won the toss, he believed the match could have gone either way.
“I think Australia took a chance, in the sense that the kind of wicket they prepared for this Test could have been anybody’s game. It could easily have gone either way. Just as we sometimes prepare spinning tracks, they prepared a fast track.
“Obviously, the luck of the toss went their way and helped them. But we could have batted a little better. We are not that accustomed to batting in these kinds of conditions. Even the Australian batsmen struggled to bat here.
“So, overall, we could have done a little better. But so far, so good. For Bangladesh cricket, coming to Australia and drawing the series against them is a very big achievement,” he added.
The 1-1 result leaves Bangladesh with plenty to improve, particularly with the bat, but also provides significant encouragement. A historic victory in Darwin, a competitive series against Australia, and a strong position in the World Test Championship have given Bangladesh reasons to believe that their Test cricket is moving in the right direction.
SAT-Style Reading Test
1. Main Idea
Which choice best states the main idea of the passage?
A. Bangladesh's defeat in Mackay demonstrated that the team is not yet capable of competing internationally.
B. Bangladesh's chief selector views the 1–1 series draw against Australia as a significant achievement despite weaknesses exposed by the second Test.
C. Australia's victory in Mackay was mainly the result of Bangladesh losing the toss.
D. Bangladesh's recent success has made it the strongest team in the World Test Championship.
2. Vocabulary in Context
As used in the passage, “crushing” most nearly means
A. unexpected.
B. controversial.
C. overwhelming.
D. temporary.
3. Supporting Evidence
Which choice best supports the answer to Question 1?
A. Bangladesh currently ranks fourth in the World Test Championship.
B. Bangladesh won three of its six Tests.
C. Bangladesh suffered an innings-and-51-run defeat in Mackay but had previously defeated Australia by nine wickets in Darwin.
D. Australia prepared a fast pitch at the Great Barrier Reef Arena.
4. Inference
What does Bashar's statement that Bangladesh has “a long way to go” most strongly suggest?
A. He believes the team has achieved nothing significant.
B. He believes Bangladesh's recent results are encouraging but do not yet establish it as a consistently strong Test team.
C. He expects Bangladesh to withdraw from future Test competitions.
D. He believes Bangladesh should focus exclusively on limited-overs cricket.
5. Function of a Detail
Why does the passage mention that Bangladesh's bowlers dismissed Australia for 210 runs?
A. To demonstrate that Bangladesh's bowling performance was stronger than its batting performance in Mackay.
B. To explain why Australia lost the match.
C. To show that Bangladesh had a higher first-innings score than Australia.
D. To prove that the pitch favoured Bangladesh's bowlers throughout the match.
6. Inference
What can reasonably be inferred from Bashar's comments about the toss?
A. He believes the toss completely determined the result of the match.
B. He believes the toss had some influence because of the difficult pitch conditions, although Bangladesh still needed to bat better.
C. He believes Bangladesh would certainly have won had it bowled first.
D. He believes winning the toss is normally more important than the quality of a team's players.
7. Vocabulary in Context
As used in the passage, “accustomed” most nearly means
A. experienced or familiar.
B. opposed.
C. interested.
D. prepared financially.
8. Purpose of a Paragraph
The paragraph beginning “Bashar believed Australia took a calculated risk…” primarily serves to
A. criticize Australia for preparing an unfair playing surface.
B. explain Bashar's assessment of the pitch and acknowledge Bangladesh's batting weaknesses.
C. demonstrate that Australia had no advantage during the match.
D. argue that Bangladesh's bowling attack needs significant improvement.
9. Quantitative Reasoning
According to the passage, Bangladesh had won three of its six Tests and drawn one during the current World Test Championship cycle.
Which choice best describes these results?
A. Bangladesh had won exactly half of its Tests.
B. Bangladesh had lost exactly half of its Tests.
C. Bangladesh had won fewer Tests than it had lost.
D. Bangladesh had won every Test that it did not draw.
10. Overall Perspective
Which choice best describes Bashar's overall attitude toward Bangladesh's performance in the series?
A. Entirely negative, because the Mackay defeat outweighed the Darwin victory.
B. Cautiously optimistic, because he recognises Bangladesh's weaknesses while emphasising the significance of drawing the series against Australia.
C. Overconfident, because he claims Bangladesh has become one of the world's best Test teams.
D. Indifferent, because he believes the result will have little effect on Bangladesh cricket.
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