'Extra bounce and swing in the air': Shanto explains reason for Bangladesh's batting horror show

Najmul Hossain Shanto pointed to unfamiliar conditions as the reason behind Bangladesh's horrible batting display in Mackay, admitting his side simply could not adapt to the extra bounce and movement on offer during the innings and 51 run defeat.

"We know how good Australia are. They showed their character. We didn't play our best this Test match," Shanto said at the post match presentation.

"This was different conditions. A little extra bounce and swing in the air. It was challenging for us," he added.

Bangladesh were bowled out for 64 and then 95, the first time any side has been dismissed for under 100 in both innings of the same Test in 21 years, and the first such instance in Bangladesh's own history.

The result also wrapped up the Test inside two days, the second shortest Test ever played in Australia and the fourth shortest of all time, levelling the series at 1-1 following Bangladesh's historic win in Darwin.

Shanto insisted the experience would benefit Bangladesh going forward despite the scale of the defeat.

"But as a team if we want to go forward we need to address these conditions and I think this experience will help us moving forward," he said.

The Bangladesh captain also acknowledged that even Shoriful Islam's career best 7 for 48, the best innings figures by a Bangladesh bowler overseas in Test cricket, had not been enough to trouble Australia's total significantly, given how difficult the surface proved for both sides.

"It was quite difficult for all the batters. Their batting also struggled with Shoriful. It was a quite difficult wicket to bat to be very honest," Shanto said.

Josh Hazlewood defended the surface on Fox Cricket despite the match's rapid conclusion.

"The wicket was pretty good. Not sure it should have been a two-day game. There was enough there. It quickened up a bit today," he said.

"There was a bit of seam movement morning of day one as you'd expect but once the shine went off the ball it didn't do a lot. It's always going to get scrutinised if it is two days but it played better than that," Hazlewood added.

Mitchell Starc, who was named player of the match for his 10 wicket haul and player of the series, had offered a similar assessment after the chaotic opening day itself, when 18 wickets fell in total.

"I don't think 18 wickets means it's a bad wicket. I would say that the 18 wickets don't reflect the quality of the wicket. I think it's a very good pitch, I think it was a very good Day 1 wicket," he said at the time, comparing the surface to a traditional first day pitch at the Gabba or Perth and praising its good, consistent bounce.

Bangladesh's batting struggled throughout the match, with Shanto and Tanzid Hasan both dismissed attempting poor shots in the second innings, Litton Das managing a third straight duck of the series, and Mushfiqur Rahim, though unbeaten on 29, repeatedly exposing the tail to Australia's bowlers by refusing to farm the strike.

Shanto ended, however, by expressing hope that Bangladesh would tour Australia more regularly, pointing to the near quarter century gap since their previous visit as a factor behind the side's struggles in unfamiliar conditions.

"We need to be consistent and I believe if we get more chances in similar conditions it will help us. And that's what we want. Not 23 years to wait to come here. If we get chances to come back more often it will improve our game," he said.