Darwin, Aug 16 (IANS) Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has called for a change in the Test team after their recent loss to Bangladesh in Darwin on Sunday. Australia’s batting has been facing growing scrutiny recently, and it all compounded when the Aussies were catapulted in their own backyard despite being at full strength as Bangladesh scripted a nine-wicket victory.
Ponting advocated for injecting youngsters into the batting order and believed that there was enough evidence for a change. “This ends up being a very embarrassing defeat. I think it’s inevitable they have to make a change. I was on the record at the end of last summer thinking that this was the ideal time to start to regenerate this team because of the performances from some of the players,” Ponting told Channel 7.
Ponting stated that he would be the last one to call for a change, but looking at the performance, he thinks it is inevitable. “Look, I’m the last one I want to make change. As a captain or as a player, I wanted to keep the group together. It has to get to a bad point before I start saying you ought to leave somebody out. But there had been enough evidence for me coming here to suggest that they weren’t going to lose anything or much at all by starting that regeneration, by maybe bringing in another opener, by maybe bringing in someone at No.3. I think that that has to happen,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Australia bowler Trent Copeland emphasised that losing a Test to Bangladesh in Australia is ‘unacceptable.’ “The players themselves will be, I’m sure, distraught with how this has gone,” he told SEN.
“I also think there is an element of them not sitting in this like the world is over either, but this is a completely unacceptable Test match result for Australia. When you are in your own conditions, I don’t care about the preparation, I don’t care who’s playing for Australia even. You cannot lose to Bangladesh in Australia in a Test match.
“I’m hesitant to go all in on it, but this is an embarrassing loss and one that’s unacceptable, and the people who will know that most are the 11 blokes who’ve taken the field, and Andrew McDonald and the coaching group,” Copeland added.
Coming back to the match, Bangladesh dominated the proceedings for almost the entire match. Led by fast bowler Hasan Mahmud’s six-wicket haul, the visitors bowled the mighty Aussies for just 198 in the first innings after the hosts had opted to bat. In reply, Tanzid Hasan Tamim became the first Bangladeshi to hit a Test ton in Australia as his 101 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 65 helped them post a daunting 426 and take a 228-run lead.
In the second essay, Australia put up a much better fight, with Cameron Green turning up good as he smashed a 104, but there was little resistance from the other batters, as they were bowled out for 284, with Mehidy Hasan taking a fifer early on Day 4. The visitors were asked to chase 57, which they did pretty easily, losing just one wicket in the previous innings’ centurion, Tanzid Hasan, as Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque remained unbeaten to guide them to a historic win.
–IANS
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