Bangladesh could’ve ‘rolled the Aussies for 60’ bowling first in Mackay Test, says Broad

Former England pacer Stuart Broad believes Bangladesh could have put Australia in serious trouble had they won the toss and bowled first in the second Test at Mackay, where an 18-wicket opening day exposed the risks of the pitch.

“If Bangladesh had won the toss and bowled, they could have rolled the Aussies for 60 and then you are in a huge amount of strife. It seemed a risk how much the pitch nipped,” Broad said while speaking on his podcast, ‘For the Love of Cricket’.

Broad questioned Australia’s decision to prepare a surface that offered substantial movement and bounce, and should have prepared a ‘flatter pitch’ if they were certain about their team’s superiority.

“Australia beat Bangladesh by an innings and draw the series 1-1, but there are still some question marks over them.

“For me, if you're a team that feels you're better man-for-man than the opposition, you should play on a flatter pitch,” Broad said.

In the match, Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Mitchell Starc exploiting the conditions to take 6-12 as Bangladesh were dismissed for 64.

The hosts too lost eight wickets on the day, and were bundled out for 210 on Day 2 with Shoriful Islam claiming a career-best 7-48.

But Starc once again shone, picking up four wickets to complete a 10-fer in the match as the Aussies won the Test by an innings and 51 runs and levelled the series 1-1.

Despite 30 wickets falling inside two days, the pitch at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay is set to receive the highest ‘Very Good’ rating, according to reports in the Australian media.

After the match, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had pointed at the double standards, saying a similar 18-wicket day in the sub-continent would have received a lot of criticism.