Starc's 6-12 skittles Bangladesh as 18 wickets tumble on chaotic day one in Mackay
Mitchell Starc dismissed Shadman Islam with the first ball of the match. By his 22nd delivery, he had five wickets. Bangladesh were 12-5, and the second Test in Mackay had barely begun.
Australia bowled Bangladesh out for 64 on day one — their fourth-lowest total in Test cricket — with Starc returning career-best figures of 6-12 and Pat Cummins chipping in with 3-25. The 18 wickets that fell across the day told the story of a pitch that offered plenty to anyone willing to bend their back, and two attacks happy to do exactly that (BBC Sport).
For Starc, the haul carried him to 441 Test wickets, nudging him past South African great Dale Steyn into 10th on the all-time list. Not bad for a session's work. Bangladesh's innings, brief as it was, stretched to 34 overs; they crawled from 39-9 to 64 all out, with Taijul Islam's 11 the top score (ESPNcricinfo).
Australia's reply was every bit as chaotic. Matt Renshaw, brought in after the first-Test defeat in Darwin, edged to slip for eight. Marnus Labuschagne was bowled for four — his wait for a Test century now stretching to 43 innings. Travis Head chopped on for 22. Alex Carey made five, Beau Webster a first-ball duck. At 88-6, Australia's lead was slender and the match was racing away from everyone.
Steve Smith and Cameron Green steadied things with a 77-run stand before Smith was trapped lbw for 42. Green, though, pressed on. Unbeaten on 51 at stumps alongside Nathan Lyon on 10 not out, Australia closed on 165-8 — 101 runs ahead (BBC Sport). Green's fifty followed a second-innings century in the first Test in Darwin, where Bangladesh shocked Australia by nine wickets (Cricket Australia). That result made this a must-win match for Australia, who had even considered dropping off-spinner Nathan Lyon for an all-pace attack before retaining him (Fox Sports).
Bangladesh, meanwhile, had their own pace hero. Shoriful Islam — a possible fitness return coming into the match — ripped through Australia's middle order to claim 6-35. For a side that won their first-ever Test on Australian soil in Darwin, a win in Mackay would lift them to third in the ICC Test rankings (ESPNcricinfo).
What makes this day stand out is the sheer symmetry of the carnage. Both seam attacks found the pitch to their liking, and neither top order could cope. A bowled-out total of 64, followed by 165-8 in reply, left the match finely balanced rather than one-sided. Green's composure in the crossfire gave Australia something to hold onto. Bangladesh's pace attack, led superbly by Shoriful, gave them every reason to believe the job is far from finished.
Day two will settle whether Australia's 101-run lead is enough — or whether Bangladesh's fairytale tour has another chapter left in it.
