Australia v Bangladesh, second Test: Ultimate match preview

1h ago Josh Schonafinger

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

Match facts

Who: Australia v Bangladesh

What: Second NRMA Insurance Test

When: August 22-26, first ball 10am local time (10am AEST, 8am AWST, 6am BST)

Where: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay

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: Nitin Menon and Kumar Dharmasena (field), Richard Illingworth (third), Donovan Koch (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 and Beau Webster have already been special guests 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 AEST

Second: 12:40pm – 2:40pm AEST

Third: 3:00pm – 5:00pm AEST

*An extra 30 minutes is available to complete daily overs

Full series schedule

First Test: Bangladesh won by nine wickets

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, Beau Webster, Matthew Renshaw

Australia's full-strength squad was no match for Bangladesh in the first Test, comprehensively outplayed across the four days. Opener Jake Weatherald has been cut from the squad after contributing scores of 23 and 0 in Darwin and a Test average a shade above 20 from six matches. Queensland's Matthew Renshaw comes in as his replacement.

Weatherald dropped, Renshaw recalled for second Test

Left on the bench in Darwin were Scott Boland and Josh Inglis and although Inglis had a minor back complaint both are expected to be fully fit and available for Mackay.

Bangladesh squad: 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, Litton Das, Shoriful Islam

Bangladesh shocked the cricket world with their comprehensive victory over Australia in Darwin and they did so without two of their best pace bowlers in Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam. While the former has flown home to Bangladesh to commence his rehabilitation for a side strain issue, Shoriful "passed his fitness test" according to his captain Najmul Shanto and will be available for selection. Whether he can force his way into the five-strong bowling attack that dismantled Australia's XI twice in 140-odd overs is another question.

Litton Das come into the Test having recently recovered from a calf issue and showed no signs of discomfort through the win at Marrara Stadium.

Possible XIs

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

Australia made the swift decision to replace Weatherald with Renshaw in the squad and it could be as simple as a straight swap in the XI too.

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury

It would almost be unfair on the Bangladesh XI to make any changes after such a complete team effort. Although they are likely to have the option of left-armer Shoriful Islam and experienced opening bat Soumya Sarkar, changes seem unlikely for the second Test.

Players to watch

Alex Carey (Australia): The Aussie gloveman lines up for his 50th Test in Mackay, playing every match since his debut at the start of the 2021-22 Ashes series. He becomes the seventh Australian keeper to reach the milestone and has a higher Test batting average (35.55) than all bar Adam Gilchrist (47.6).

Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh): Mushfiqur Rahim finally made his first Test appearance in Australia aged 39, 21 years after his debut in 2005. The diminutive right-hander, who gave up the gloves in Tests five years ago, contributed an enterprising 36 in Darwin which help push Bangladesh further into the lead on the second afternoon. Known for his contagious smile, the elder statesman celebrated harder than most of his teammates following the Tigers' historic victory and will be keener than most to complete the job in Mackay.

Form guide

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

Australia: LWLWWWWWWL

Australia's first Test since January ended in a comfortable defeat and now have seven wins and three loses across their past 10 fixtures.

Bangladesh: WLWWWWLDWL

Bangladesh claimed only the 10th away win in their history and their first Test win in Australia with their performance in Darwin.

World Test Championship

Australia's shock loss has cut their lead on top of the WTC standings as their points percentage dropped from 87.50 to 77.78. However, it was only their second loss of the current cycle.

Bangladesh meanwhile have inched closer to the top two, but captain Shanto poured cold water on the discussions of his side's potential WTC final chances, saying it was still "one match at a time" for the Tigers.

NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series