Darwin, 12 August 2026:
Australia and Bangladesh renew a rare Test rivalry Thursday when the first match of a two-Test series begins in Darwin, 23 years after the teams first met in the format in the same city.
Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed his XI on Wednesday, with Jake Weatherald set to open alongside Travis Head and a familiar pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood supporting off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The opening Test at Marrara Stadium will run from Aug. 13-17, with play starting at 10 a.m. local time. The second Test will be played at Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay from Aug. 22-26, also starting at 10 a.m.
The series brings Bangladesh back to Australia for Test cricket for only the second time. Its only previous Test tour was a two-match series in July 2003, which included the countries’ first Test against each other in Darwin. Australia won that match by an innings and 132 runs.
Overall, Australia and Bangladesh have met six times in Tests, with Australia winning five and Bangladesh one. Bangladesh’s lone victory came in Mirpur in 2017, when it won the opening Test of a two-match series by 20 runs before Australia hit back to level the series 1-1.
Cummins said Australia was not treating Bangladesh lightly despite its dominant head-to-head record.
“I don’t reckon I’ve ever played an easy Test match,” Cummins said. “I’m sure they’ll be strong, a few of the guys we haven’t really ever seen before, so that always brings a few unknowns going into the Test match, but they’ve had some big wins over the last couple of years.”
Cummins said the Darwin surface looked and felt hard and expected a good batting wicket offering some pace and bounce. Australia preferred Hazlewood to Scott Boland for the opener, while Lyon’s place was effectively locked in as selectors settled on the balance of the attack.
The captain also backed Labuschagne after a break from competition, saying the batter had looked as sharp as he had in a long time during recent match simulation in Brisbane.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto stopped short of naming his XI, saying several niggles would be assessed Thursday morning. He confirmed Litton Das was fully fit and said Bangladesh would consider its usual balance of two spinners and three seamers depending on conditions.
For Shanto, the return to Darwin carries both historical significance and opportunity.
“It’s a very good opportunity for us,” Shanto said. “I think 23 years before we played here and then we are very lucky to come again. And I hope we will play some good cricket and we wanted to compete with them.”
Shanto acknowledged batting would present a major challenge against Australia’s attack but said Bangladesh had arrived early and worked specifically on adapting to the extra bounce. He described Australia’s bowling unit as “world-class” while expressing confidence his players were ready to embrace the challenge.
Bangladesh’s recent progress has also given Shanto confidence that his side can compete more consistently in Test cricket. He pointed to improvement in the bowling group while identifying batting as the area that needs to take another step.
The captain said the grassy-looking Darwin pitch could offer bowlers some assistance, though he expected conditions to provide opportunities for both batters and bowlers.
Australia XI: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vice-captain), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Musfik Hasan.
