“They deserved to win,” Cummins said. “They were a much better team than us this week. I thought they outplayed us in all aspects, really. They were really patient. They didn’t really let us get back. They stuck to their catches.”
“Not losing a Test match is fantastic. I think the standards we hold ourselves to are a little higher than what we played this week.”
That’s what makes this different from the West Indies defeat two years ago. On that occasion, they needed just 103 runs to win with eight wickets in hand, with the combination of Steven Smith and Cameron Green, only for Shamar Joseph to take 7 for 68 in one of Australia’s greatest ever spells.
That loss was an aberration in the middle of a summer of six wins from seven, having won the WTC Championship and kept the Ashes away. They went on to beat India at home later in the year. They have beaten New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies away from home without drawing a single match let alone losing a single one. They lost the one-off World Trade Center final to South Africa, which was an upset but not a comprehensive defeat. They then beat England at home 4-1.
In the future, this loss may also be seen as an aberration in this context. Selectors, coaches and players have credits in the bank, although for some it may be low.
Bangladesh has opened the cracks that England talked about but could not uncover. New disciplined ball bowling revealed a high-level, shaky discipline that withstood long-term technical and temperamental challenges.
The old-school disciplined Test batting put up 138 overs in the aging attack. The highly regarded Australian catcher also had five chances.
The player, who has averaged 69.10 in eight Tests in South Africa and New Zealand, then took 5 for 66 to bowl out Nathan Lyon who has 274 of his 568 Test wickets in home conditions.
The Australian batsmen as a group scored 482 runs for the loss of 20 wickets across two innings in a home Test while Bangladesh scored 426 in one against the only attack in Test history to feature four bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets.
Cummins’ attention subsequently fell on the batting group. Green’s excellent century took the immediate pressure off him although it still did not please some fans despite how well he played. It is noteworthy that the young Australian batsman, 27 years old, and the youngest Bangladeshi batsman, 25 years old, were the only players to score centuries in the match.
The question is, having backed these two at the start of their 20th Test journey with a long-term vision of putting them to bed, will Australia stick around or buckle after a shocking defeat. It’s one of the problems Cummins wrestled with in front of a room full of reporters.
“I think it’s pretty clear that it’s not working as well as we would like as a group,” Cummins said. “I think it’s a balance, it’s one test but it’s also a bit of a trend as well. So it’s trying to work out, do you need to step in now or do you just let it go and think this is the way forward?”
“So I think that’s the question we’ll be sitting and thinking over the next couple of days. The selectors will have a thought. Is there something that will take us forward, or is it something that’s starting to become a trend that we think needs to change?”
Where they would go if change was required is another question. The Australian coaching staff met with the state coaches in Brisbane just a fortnight ago to discuss the dearth of young batsmen plundering runs at the domestic level.
The issue of preparation will also arise in the aftermath. Images of Australia’s players walking down the fairway at Darwin Golf Club while Bangladesh practiced in nearby nets that stretched along the fence line on the 13th hole are widespread, and the symbolism will only come to light a shameful week later.
The truth is that Australia’s preparations were no different than usual. If anything, they have spent more time in training camps in Brisbane in the lead-up to a Test match after a long break than they have in the past.
“I thought our preparation was really excellent,” Cummins said. “We spent six weeks or so in Brisbane. I think we were pretty successful.”
Whether they pay attention to detail on their opponents and circumstances is another question. Cummins denied that they underestimated Bangladesh, but various comments were made about not knowing much about their opponents despite none of them being complete newcomers to international cricket. Even Tenzid Hassan, playing only his second Test, has played 93 white-ball caps for his country, including six against Australia less than two months ago.
Three of Australia’s last four defeats in the past two years have come in the first Test after months of long hiatus between series. There were different introductions each time with white-ball and franchise commitments as part of the preparation challenge. They are a group of old people who have a habit of starting slow and finishing strong.
They have just one Test to finish strongly in this series and many more challenges to come that should be tougher than the Bangladeshi challenge that dismantled them in Darwin. Beating the visitors in Mackay will be difficult enough before you consider South Africa, New Zealand, India and England.
There is a lot for Australia’s leaders to think about over the next five days. They are under enormous pressure to avoid another disaster.
Alex Malcolm is Associate Editor at Cricinfo
