Smith and lesson: Batters in the gun as Australia face horror loss to Bangladesh

Darwin: Marnus Labuschagne and Jake Weatherald have given up control of their Test match futures with a pair of unsightly dismissals as Australia stare squarely at the prospect of an embarrassing defeat to Bangladesh in the Top End.

Much of the team’s remaining optimism went with Steve Smith (44), who started day three with a simple dropped chance and ended it by tamely prodding a return catch to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, whose stubborn contribution with the bat had kept Bangladesh’s first innings going until the afternoon.

By stumps, Australia were still 67 behind with just six wickets in hand at 4-161. Only an epic rearguard by Cameron Green (43 not out), Alex Carey (19 not out) and the remainder of the order over the final two days will avert disaster against a touring side who have lost each of their past two red-ball matches by an innings: to the might of Zimbabwe and to the tyros of a Cricket Australia XI.

In historical terms, this would be an unexpected home defeat to rank with those to the West Indies in Brisbane in 2024, and to an emerging Pakistan at the SCG as far back as 1977. For the scale of humiliation, it would perhaps rank with innings losses to South Africa in Hobart in 2016, and to England (thrice) in 2010-11 and 1986-87.

Regardless of the result, the Australian selectors will be carefully mulling the futures of Weatherald and Labuschagne, who each made significant mental errors to be bowled by deliveries that would not have troubled them with more sensible shot choices.

As with the first day, when Pat Cummins chose to bat on a tacky pitch, none of the Australians were blameless in their dismissals. Bangladesh bowled tightly and sensibly, but there was plenty of what the analysts call “batter error”.

Having watched the visitors bat with firm technique and plenty of patience for three days, Weatherald lasted just three balls before dragging onto the stumps with a crookedly angled blade and departing for a duck.

By his own admission, Weatherald is on the verge of losing his place if he doesn’t make a score in this series, but either way his technical and mental lapses will not fill the selectors with confidence given the many taxing Test assignments ahead.

“If you play that with a straight bat towards cover, that’s not happening,” former opener David Warner said on Fox Cricket.

“It’s only because he’s come from outside, which is his natural technique.

“But a nice technique would have been inside that with a vertical plane. That’s being slightly critical, that’s in an ideal world. He’ll be disappointed with that.”

Travis Head (17) fell in similar fashion half an hour before the break, and the evening session had barely begun when Labuschagne (31) played all around a leg-stump half volley from left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. Nathan Lyon had received no such favours.

Green might easily have joined the procession of departing Australians, for on 12 he had edged Taskin Ahmed so close to leg stump that audio suggested contact insufficient to knock off a bail. Overall the impression was that, given 300 balls on the stumps to defend, this batting team would make 10 mistakes.

Smith had been furious to grass an outfield catch as Australia failed to bowl out Bangladesh before lunch, with the visitors stretching their lead to an enormous 228 when they were finally dismissed.

Head also put down a catch, albeit a much tougher one, to enable Mehidy (65) to prolong the innings. Australia dropped five catches in the innings.

Mehidy finished the morning session by hooking Green for a huge six to leave absolutely no doubt which side had dominated the morning. After the break, Josh Hazlewood (6-89) pouched the last two wickets to move to 301 in his Test career.

Bangladesh’s total of 426 was a run short of their highest-ever tally against Australia in Tests, and comfortably the highest number of overs they have batted for against them.

“It’s very, very un-Australian, isn’t it?” said Alyssa Healy in the Fox Cricket commentary box. “We’ve seen catches go down. We’ve seen us out in the field for 128 overs. A lot of talking points that I think Australia seemingly have brought upon themselves.”

For Australia to somehow win the match they would need to overcome their biggest first-innings deficit in home soil – it was previously 206 against Pakistan in Sydney in 2010.

Australia’s biggest first-innings deficit overcome to win in all Tests was 291 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1992.

Cummins’ team started out with plenty of intent to claim quick wickets, and a pair of victims for Hazlewood took him to 299. But Mehidy found a willing ally in senior fast bowler Taskin (14) and the pair put on 46 together to keep the tourists batting beyond lunch.

Cummins tried pace and spin, short balls and full ones, but was unable to claim the last two wickets. It appeared inevitable that Cummins would claim at least one when Taskin tried a hook shot, but the chance swirled a little in the breeze and Smith spilled it, immediately showing his displeasure.

It was notable, too, for Australia that Lyon was unable to find a way to coax the Bangladesh lower order into errors. He was played with impressive restraint by Mehidy and Taskin, who maintained their team’s strong resolve not to give the Australians anything easily.

Another sign of untidiness and fatigue came when Mitchell Starc was no-balled for having three fielders behind square on the leg side. Australia’s weary bowlers are going to have to pitch in with the bat on Sunday, or an ugly defeat is looming.