Darwin, August 13, 2026:
Steve Smith described batting conditions in Australia as the toughest of his Test career after Bangladesh dismissed the hosts for 198 on the opening day of the first Test in Darwin on Thursday.
Smith top-scored with 71 from 109 balls but Australia struggled against Bangladesh’s seam attack, led by Hasan Mahmud’s career-best 6-55. Bangladesh reached 96-1 at stumps, trailing by 102 runs.
“It was a bit tacky and the ball was seaming quite significantly,” Smith said. “I thought they bowled pretty well this morning as well, so it was challenging.”
Smith said the pitch had changed considerably from Australia’s assessment a day earlier.
“Guys thought the wicket was rock hard,” he said. “When we turned up this morning, it was a bit tacky, I think just from the dew potentially.
“It’ll be interesting to see tomorrow morning if it’s the same. It definitely hardened up as the day went on, but if there’s that same dew tomorrow morning and it softens up, I think it’ll be tricky to bat again.”
Smith praised Bangladesh’s attack for exploiting the conditions and consistently testing Australia’s batters.
“I thought all the bowlers bowled nicely,” Smith said. “It was seaming around. They bowled decent areas and challenged our defence quite a bit.”
The former Australia captain said batting against the new ball had become increasingly difficult in recent years.
“I’ve said for a while that batting at the top of the order in Australia at the moment is as tough as I’ve seen in my career, by a mile,” Smith said. “The ball’s seaming significantly. It’s extremely tricky and you need some luck, definitely, as a top-order batter.”
Smith acknowledged he benefited from some fortune during his innings.
“I could have been out for not many today,” he said. “I had some luck.”
Despite Australia’s difficult start, Smith rejected any suggestion that preparation was a factor.
“There’s no excuses,” he said. “We’ve prepared really well. We’ve had a load of training in Brisbane, match simulation stuff. We’ve trained here. We’ve done plenty.”
With Bangladesh well placed after the opening day, Smith said Australia’s immediate task was to exploit any early assistance on Friday.
“Hopefully we can take a few early ones and get ourselves back in this game,” he said.
