08/21/26 09:26:00
Printable Page
08/21 21:19 CDT Starc's cricket master-class: 5 wickets in 1st session for
Australia against Bangladesh
Starc's cricket master-class: 5 wickets in 1st session for Australia against
Bangladesh
MACKAY, Australia (AP) --- Mitchell Starc removed Bangladesh opener Shadman
Islam with the first ball of the match and the veteran Australian fast bowler
took five wickets in the first session of the second cricket test Saturday.
After Australia won the toss and decided to bowl, with captain Pat Cummins
suggesting "the wicket looks pretty good, but if there is any moisture in it,
it might be this morning," Starc proved Cummins correct.
Islam was caught in the gully off a leading edge to give Starc his fourth
career wicket on the first ball of a match. Starc removed Tanzid Hasan and had
captain Najmul Hossain Shanto caught lbw in the third over to leave Bangladesh,
which surprisingly won the first test of the two-test series, reeling.
Starc got his fourth wicket when Nathan Green made a grass-top catch to remove
Mominul Haque for 9, the only Bangladesh batter to score a run among the first
four batters Saturday. His fifth wicket came when he had Litton Das trapped lbw.
At lunch Saturday, Bangladesh was 35 for 6, having lost its sixth wicket when
Cummins bowled Mushfiqur Rahim.
Starc's figures were 5-11 in nine overs.
"Six in the first session, can't beat that," Starc told his wife, television
commentator and former Australia captain Alyssa Healy while walking off the
field at lunch. "Obviously a little bit of anger. It's worked well so far,
hopefully we can keep it up."
Australia announced a 13-man squad earlier this week, with only one change for
the second test. It dropped Jake Weatherald and recalled Matt Renshaw, who will
open the batting.
Bangladesh also made one change --- Shoriful Islam came in for Ebadot Hossain.
The match began under sunny skies at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, a
coastal city in Queensland state about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the
capital Brisbane.
Bangladesh's first test win in Australia put pressure on national cricket
selectors for an overhaul, but the bulk of the aging squad was retained despite
being outplayed in Darwin, where the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Hasan made
the most of the tropical conditions.
The two-test "Top End" series starts a heavy 12-month schedule for the
Australians that will feature 20 test matches, including tours to South Africa,
India and England.
___
See AP's full cricket coverage here
|