Australia v Bangladesh, first Test: Ultimate match preview

2h ago Josh Schonafinger

Get the broadcast info, latest team news, start times and more for the first Test of the new season

Match facts

Who: Australia v Bangladesh

What: First NRMA Insurance Test

When: August 13-17, first ball 10am local time (10:30am AEST, 8:30am AWST, 6:30am BST)

Where: Marrara Stadium, Darwin

Live scores: Match Centre

How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel

How to listen: ABC Radio and SEN Radio will bring you live coverage on the wireless of both Test matches this series.

Buy tickets: Tickets are still available. Get them here.

Officials: Richard Illingworth, Kumar Dharmasena (field), Nitin Menon (third), Sam Nogajski (fourth). Richie Richardson (referee)

News and reactions post-play: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app. The Unplayable Podcast will also be dropping a new episode after each days' play during the summer. Josh Hazlewood has already been a special guest this summer and expect to see more Test players throughout the summer. Join hosts Josh Schonafinger and Louis Cameron to recap all the action and talking points from the ground. And you can listen to the back catalogue of episodes below.

Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on iHeart Radio

First Test session times

First: 10:00am – 12:00pm (10:30am – 12:30pm AEST)

Second: 12:40pm – 2:40pm (1:10pm – 3:10pm AEST)

Third: 3:00pm – 5:00pm (3:30pm – 5:30pm AEST)

*An extra 30 minutes is available to complete daily overs

Full series schedule

First Test: August 13-17; Marrara Stadium, Darwin

Second Test: August 22-26; Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay

The squads

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Australia have gone in with a full-strength squad after more than six months out of the Test arena. Dropping out of the playing XI from their most recent match - against England in Sydney in January - are Michael Neser and the retired Usman Khawaja. Returning is captain Pat Cummins and experienced bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon after the trio played only three Ashes matches between them.

Head 'not a true opener' but foresees long-term partnership

Ashes squad members Brendan Doggett, Todd Murphy and Jhye Richardson were also left out. Neser suffered a calf injury at a training camp in Brisbane and will be unavailable should any bowling reinforcement be required.

Bangladesh squad (first Test): Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Musfik Hasan

Bangladesh have been dealt a couple of hammer blows on the eve of this series with injuries to key players. Fast bowler Nahid Rana, who roughed up Pakistan with spells of 140kph+, is out with a side injury. Left-arm quick Shoriful Islam, who took 6-48 in June's third ODI against Australia, has been ruled out with a hamstring strain. However, there is a chance Shoriful could be fit for the second Test in Mackay.

Into the squad comes Soumya Sarkar, the 33-year-old opener who hasn't played Test cricket since 2021 but has been recalled to fill an experience gap at the top of the Tigers order. Chief selector Habibul Bashar said "there was a bit of desperation" in picking Soumya, with all the talented openers in Bangaldesh's first-class system either out of form or untested against very fast bowling.

Keeper-bat Litton Das was a late addition to the squad too, bringing much needed experience and class to the middle order. He is Bangladesh's leading run-scorer in Tests in the past five years, scoring six hundreds and averages 41.70 in that time. Litton is the Tigers' first-choice wicketkeeper as well, as veteran Mushfiqur Rahim no longer takes the gloves in long-form cricket.

2026 Allan Border Medal: Travis Head

Possible XIs

Australia: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

It seems as if Travis Head will retain his spot as Test opener after his wildly successful Ashes series at the top of Australia's order. No other specialist opener has been picked in the squad allowing the South Australian to continue his partnership with Jake Weatherald. It's a no-brainer that captain Pat Cummins returns but just how the remainder of the bowling positions are allocated between Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon remains to be seen. It's worth noting that Beau Webster was selected at No.8 in the Sydney Ashes Test, but Usman Khawaja's retirement means there's an available position in the top seven. Alex Carey has expressed a willingness to bat at No.5, but it remains to be seen if Australia will make that move.

'Love to do that': Carey's case to defy history at five

Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Litton Das (wk), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Syed Khaled Ahmed.

With Soumya Sarkar taking his place as opener, the rest of the top seven looks pretty settled with captain Najmal Shanto, keeper Litton Das and 39-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim locks in the middle order. Mehidy Hasan is a genuine match-winning allrounder who finally gets to showcase his talents in Australia and his off-spin will be crucial for the Tigers in partnership with left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, now the country's highest wicket-taker (270) in Tests. The experienced Ebadot Hossain was enjoying paternity leave in Italy after becoming a father for the first time but cut that short to ensure he was available for the first Test.

Players to watch

Josh Hazlewood (Australia): The tall fast bowler hasn't played Test cricket since the West Indies tour in July last year, with hamstring and Achilles injuries ruling him out for the entire Ashes series. It was a shame for the NSW quick, who bowled the house down in the ODIs and T20Is against India that preceded the Test series. The 34-year-old is five wickets away from the magical 300-mark in Tests and will join his long-time teammates Lyon, Starc and Cummins if he gets there.

Can Hazlewood name his teammates' paid posts?

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh): The crafty allrounder is a special player who has built a very strong record at the top flight, and began his tour in style with a rapid century against the CA XI in their warm-up match. Across the past two years only Taijul Islam (75) has taken more Test wickets for Bangladesh than Mehid's 55, while also averaging 31.7 with the bat. He joined a rather elite list in April 2025 when hit a century and took a five-wicket haul in the same match against Zimbabwe, becoming just the third Bangladeshi to achieve the rare feat.

Mehidy kicks off Aussie tour with super ton against CA XI

Local knowledge

Darwin's Marrara Stadium hasn't featured a great deal of international cricket but Australia returned last season for the first time in 17 years with two T20Is against South Africa.

The only two Tests here were in 2003 and 2004 - when a young local boy named Jake Weatherland was watching on - with the Aussies defeating Bangladesh by an innings and 132 runs followed by a 149-run win over Sri Lanka. In fact, the Tigers have played in Darwin more than any other touring side, as they also visited for a three-match ODI series in 2008.

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, D: draw

Australia: WLWWWWWWLW

Australia haven't featured in Tests since completing their 4-1 Ashes series victory over England way back at the start of the year.

Bangladesh: LWWWWLDWLW

It was a horror start to the Aussie tour for Bangladesh, who went down to the CA XI by an innings and 38 runs after being rolled for 54 in the second innings.

Thompson's stunning 8-25 tames Tigers for lowly 54

However, that was purely a warm-up match and won't count as a first-class fixture. In the Test area, their 2026 form has been mixed, winning two of their warm games this calendar year.

They began with two convincing home victories over Pakistan in May, winning that series 2-0, with margins of 104 runs and 78 runs. That made it four wins on the bounce for the Tigers after a 2-0 win over Ireland in November. But the winning streak ended in June when they were crushed by an innings and 85 runs to the hands of Zimbabwe in the one-off Test in Harare.

World Test Championship

Australia sit on top of the rankings at roughly the half-way point of the new cycle, with seven wins and a solitary loss making their points percentage a healthy 87.50.

Bangladesh's recent matches against Zimbabwe and Ireland don't count towards the WTC so they have played just the four games in this cycle, which began with a 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka over two Tests last June.

Rapid stats

The two sides have met in only six Tests, with Australia holding a 5-1 winning record. Bangladesh’s only win came in Mirpur in 2017, in a thrilling 20-run victory.
Australia’s pace attack has proved hard to counter in the past two years of Test cricket, averaging a wicket every 20.75 runs, second in the world to only South Africa’s quicks (20.16). Breaking it down further, the Aussie fast bowlers love shaping up against right-handed batters, averaging a wicket every 19.55 runs against them and a wicket every 24.08 runs to the left-handed batters.
Josh Hazlewood needs five wickets (295) to reach 300 in Test cricket. Should he get there he would become the 42nd in the history of the game to the milestone and the ninth Australian.
Mushfiqur Rahim is 194 runs away from becoming the first Bangladeshi to 7,000 in Test cricket.
Bangladesh is the only opposition in the World Test Championship that Steve Smith doesn't have a Test century against. His only two Tests against the Tigers to date yielded 119 runs at 29.75.

NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series

First Test: August 13-17, Marrara Stadium, Darwin, 10am (local)

Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)