Australia begin their pre-Ashes warm up over the weekend when they start a Test series in Bangladesh. It is only a two match series but after their struggles in Asia last winter all eyes will be on them to see if there has been any improvement. The series gives Bangladesh the ideal chance for another heavy scalp.
Schedule
1st Test: Aug 27-31 at Mirpur
2nd Test: Sep 4-8 at Chittagong
Bangladesh
Bangladesh head into this series still having won just one Test series against a side other than West Indies but the fact that they have drawn four of their last six series worldwide suggests that they are making progress in the right direction and we will get another opportunity to see how far they have improved here.
As with a lot of Test sides these days their home form is pretty solid and we know what they are going to serve up here. They are going to produce turning tracks where their plethora of spinners come into play. If they can bat well four times in this series they may well have every chance of getting something from the series.
Australia
Obviously this will be a physical challenge for Australia but it is likely to be a mental one too given their struggles in Sri Lanka and India over the last 12-18 months or so. The simple problem they have is not enough of their batsmen are competent or confident enough in playing spin. That is the test they will need to pass here.
Another reason why Australia have struggled in the sub-continent has been their lack of back up spinners to Nathan Lyon and the need to manage their seamers through spells of injury. That said they saw off Pakistan in good style at home earlier in the year and with the Ashes on the horizon they should be fully focused on Test cricket.
Head to Head
These two have played just two Test series in the past and Australia have won them both 2-0 so Bangladesh will be looking to create some history in this series. Bangladesh’s finest hour came against Australia in 2005 but that was in the 50 over format.
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Betting
I’m not going to go too mad in this series not just because the two haven’t been against each other very often but also because it is my pet hate of a two Test series and one innings always dominates the statistics.
I am going to take a chance that they level the series though. I don’t think it is a certainly that Australia win a Test but I do think we’ll see a couple of results. Bangladesh beat England in a Test last winter and with Australia being unable to play spin they could easily win one here. I think it is a little early in Bangladesh’s development to win a series of this magnitude so I’ll have a go at 1-1.
Tips
WON – Back 1-1 Series Correct Score for a 2/10 stake at 4.00 with Bet365
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