For Australia, their quest of doing well in Asia seems like a never ending nightmare. They have already been humbled in India, Sri Lanka and UAE in the recent past. Their round of humiliation ascended to the very next level after the Kangaroos were marauded by Bangladesh in the first Test at Dhaka by 20 runs. For a side that has been troubled by spin to such a huge extent, the problems seem to be never ending.
Earlier this year, some hopes were raised when despite losing, the Steven Smith led outfit provided a stern fight to the dominant Indians. A 2-1 series loss was perceived as a positive outing, and it was thought that the side would start its run of victories in Asia, with the series in Bangladesh.
However, come the first Test in Bangladesh, and all that vanished into thin air, as the Kangaroos once again succumbed to their old weakness – spin bowling. The media back home was scathing after the outfit was taken down in Dhaka. The otherwise outspoken Aussie press didn’t mince words, before bashing up the side.
Peter Lalor of ‘The Australian’ wrote,
“Australia can’t win in Asia anymore. We play suboptimal cricket on the subcontinent. Our batsmen have developed an almost fatal dust allergy.”
Another writer, Daniel Cherny of The Age, wrote,
“The wisdom of Smith’s comments have come into question after he became the first Australian captain to preside over a Test defeat to the Tigers, ranked a lowly ninth in the game’s longest format,” he wrote.
“Bangladesh are clearly no longer the easy beats they once were, especially at home. As Smith noted last week, they beat England in a Test last year. Even still, this 20-run loss is a bitter pill to swallow for a proud cricketing nation, one which only last year was the world’s top-ranked Test nation, and one that will slip to No.6 if it loses the second Test next week in Chittagong,” Cherny said.