Key events
33rd over: Australia 113-6 (Sutherland 15, Wareham 1) That’s 2 for 21 for Fahima at the end of the over.
WICKET! Gardner st Joty b Fahima 32, Australia 112-6
The left-arm spinner does her with turn! Gardner down the pitch, not close enough to the ball though and it spins past her edge. Joty fumbles the first take, clutches the ball against her stomach, then manages to push it into her gloves and punch the bails off before Gardner gets back. Square leg umpire just pops up the finger, clear as day.
32nd over: Australia 111-5 (Gardner 32, Sutherland 14) Sultana Khatun continues, but Gardner is into her work now. Drives four straight, then clobbers another four square on the leg side. 11 from the over, suddenly Australia are looking in good shape.
31st over: Australia 100-5 (Gardner 27, Sutherland 8) Change of bowling with Fahima’s left-arm spin returning for the leg spin of Rabeya. Short though and Gardner cuts her late for four. The bowler spins one past Sutherland’s edge though, and the ball keeps low too.
30th over: Australia 94-5 (Gardner 22, Sutherland 7) Fahima carries on, picked off for four singles.
29th over: Australia 90-5 (Gardner 20, Sutherland 5) Rabeya bowls her eighth, another tidy one that costs three.
28th over: Australia 87-5 (Gardner 18, Sutherland 4) Fahima continues, Gardner hits down the ground, and she’s dropped! A really bad miss, honestly. It’s Sobhana Mostary again, who misfielded earlier. She’s at long off but only about halfway back from the circle, and the lofted shot is hit straight to her. Hits her around the stomach and she drops it while falling over backwards. That was panic fielding, very poor at this level, and a chance to get rid of the most dangerous remaining batter goes to grass.
27th over: Australia 83-5 (Gardner 16, Sutherland 2) Double leg spin continues with Rabeya – who nearly gets Gardner, but the slip has been taken out. Genuine edge while driving, gets Gardner two.
26th over: Australia 78-5 (Gardner 13, Sutherland 1) Almost two in two, as Fahima bowls the conventional leg break to the right-hander, spinning past the edge. Huge appeal but she didn’t hit it. Narrowly.
WICKET! Mooney c Joty b Fahima 25, Australia 78-5
The biggest wicket yet. Mooney is the problem solver for Australia. She was well set and starting to move. But she’s not sure what to do against this ball from Fahima. Hangs on the crease, thinking about whether to go forward or back. It’s the googly, it spins away from the left-hander, who is drawn into a push down the line. Edged to the keeper, Fahima joins the wicket-takers.
25th over: Australia 78-4 (Mooney 25, Gardner 13) Sultana Khatum, the opening spinner, comes back. Drops short twice, pulled by both players but only for one run each time. But after a couple of dots, Gardner decides to attack, stepping down to loft four over mid off! Quality shot.
24th over: Australia 72-4 (Mooney 24, Gardner 8) Rabeya loses her length for a little while, a long hop to Gardner and then a full toss, but only punished for a two and a one. Mooney reverse laps a couple. Rabeya gets things right the last two balls, making Mooney defend cautiously.
23rd over: Australia 67-4 (Mooney 22, Gardner 5) Fahima Khatun to bowl, the other leggie in the side. Awkward kinda action, limbs everywhere, but the ball comes out of that with some revs on it. Mooney is looking to raise tempo, getting down to sweep fine for two, then coming down to drive two more through point.
22nd over: Australia 62-4 (Mooney 18, Gardner 4) Tsk, tsk. Another tight over from Rabeya is wrecked by a misfield. Mooney goes big over cover, Sobhana Mostary gets around to it but her feet slip a bit on the wet grass, and one run becomes four as the ball scoots through her.
21st over: Australia 57-4 (Mooney 14, Gardner 3) Nearly a run out! Australia unsettled. Mooney sweeps, misses, ball goes off the keeper to backward short fine leg, Mooney stays put. But Gardner runs. Finally Mooney looks around and realises she has to go. The throw comes to the striker’s end, and just misses. Direct hit from Fahima Khatun would have had Gardner. That bye plus a Gardner run is all from Nahida’s over.
20th over: Australia 55-4 (Mooney 14, Gardner 2) A few runs comes, Mooney cutting Rabeya for two among some singles. In the context of this innings, five runs feels lucrative. The flipside though is that Australia know that Bangladesh often struggle batting. So even 150 will give them a good chance to win.
19th over: Australia 50-4 (Mooney 10, Gardner 1) Another false shot as Gardner hits in the air first ball, but mid off is back at long off. One run.
WICKET! McGrath lbw Nahida 9, Australia 48-4
Great ball from Nahida! Classic left-arm spin. Flight and tease outside off stump, beating McGrath’s edge. Then the keeper comes down for a chat, makes a suggestion. Next ball is the arm ball, searing in at the stumps, faster and flatter, and McGrath has already plonked one foot down the line of the stumps. No chance, it beats her inside edge and goes on straight, hits her in front of off stump. Plumb.
18th over: Australia 48-3 (Mooney 9, McGrath 9) Sharp turn from Rabeya in this over, into the left-handed Mooney. The leg-spinner has looked good so far. A single and a bye as the go-slow continues.
17th over: Australia 46-3 (Mooney 8, McGrath 9) Nahida’s left-arm stuff, a couple of singles and a leg bye is all.
16th over: Australia 43-3 (Mooney 7, McGrath 8) Rabeya drifts down leg to the right-hander, then nearly has McGrath chop on with the googly. One run off the misfield at point, then Mooney gets one with the reverse sweep. Just a paddle.
15th over: Australia 40-3 (Mooney 6, McGrath 7) Nahida has the ball turning in towards the left-handed Mooney, cramping her for room so far. A drive back nearly carries to the bowler. This is tough work. One beats the outside edge but the umpire ignores the keeper’s appeal. Bangladesh keeping Australia to 2.6 runs per over.
14th over: Australia 39-3 (Mooney 6, McGrath 6) Rabeya Khan on for a bowl, leg-spin bowler, and starts brilliantly. No run from her over, using the spot just outside Mooney’s off stump to keep the batter unsure.
13th over: Australia 39-3 (Mooney 6, McGrath 6) At last, a change. Nahida Akter with her left-arm spin. That works for the batting side, a misfield at cover point letting McGrath’s strike through for four. Three singles as well, much better over for Australia.
12th over: Australia 32-3 (Mooney 4, McGrath 1) Still no bowling change, with Sultana Khatun’s off breaks. Some low bounce for her, the batters still struggling to time their shots as McGrath drags a cut to mid off. Nearly lbw too, just spoons a ball away at the last minute.
11th over: Australia 31-3 (Mooney 3, McGrath 1) A sixth over for Marufa, she’ll probably be tiring by now so it might be time for a break. But she nearly gets Mooney nicking behind, then nearly gets one burrowing through the defence, angles it into Mooney from around the wicket, and I think there’s an inside edge into thigh, the ball could easily have gone back onto the stumps. Again, a single driven from the last ball.
10th over: Australia 30-3 (Mooney 2, McGrath 1) More dots, another suffocating over as Sultana Khatun’s spin concedes just one from the sixth ball. Mooney flicks to midwicket. That’s after Sultana nearly skids one through from around the wicket to hit Mooney in front of off stump, but she just gets bat down in time. Going at three per over through the fielding restrictions.
9th over: Australia 29-3 (Mooney 1, McGrath 1) Tahlia McGrath to the middle, and two singles follow the wicket, McGrath off her pads, Mooney risky to mid off, and she just makes her ground but a direct hit might have had her.
WICKET! Healy c Joty b Marufa, Australia 27-3
Huge strike! Reprieved twice but finally Healy goes. Marufa has bowled 22 dot balls so far, a lot of them to Healy over the last three overs, and finally the pressure tells. In at the stumps, in at the stumps, then width but a bit of movement away. Healy booms the drive at that line but nicks it through to the keeper. Cue jubilation, huge fist-pump and leap from the bowler.
8th over: Australia 27-2 (Healy 24, Mooney 0) At last Mooney gets to face a couple of balls after Healy finds a single from Sultana Khatun. Just the two bowlers used so far by Bangladesh, and the run rate is low.
7th over: Australia 26-2 (Healy 23, Mooney 0) Beth Mooney is so often the firefighter for Australia, and it’s a tricky period with scoring difficult and Healy having been missed twice as well as the two wickets. Marufa bowls four more dots to Healy, but finally errs and gives her room outside off. Healy slices her drive over backward point for four. Then drives one to keep the strike.
WICKET! Perry c Rabeya Khan b Sultana Khatun 2, Australia 21-1
6th over: Australia 21-2 (Healy 18) Dragged down by Sultana, and Healy slams a pull through midwicket. Four. But the over ends well for Bangladesh, as Perry plays an odd shot, looking to flick across the line even though the line is outside the off stump. She reaches for it and twists her wrists back across the line, and the ball ends up taking the back edge, even perhaps the back of the bat, hits the keeper’s thigh, deflects back where slip takes the catch! Rabeya Khan with it.
5th over: Australia 16-1 (Healy 13, Perry 2) Marufa backs up her fielding with another fine over, this time keeping Healy quiet, five dots before an inside edge squeezed away for a run.
4th over: Australia 15-1 (Healy 12, Perry 2) Another chance missed off Healy! Reaches for width from Sultana Khatun, edges it between slip and keeper. Fahima Khatun is a bit slow to react, the ball is travelling but it’s catchable, her weight goes the wrong way at first, expecting it to be edged thicker it looks like. But it goes fine. She throws out her left hand but it’s already gone. Marufa does brilliantly from long leg to spring across to deep third and save a run, flicking the ball back in. That’s serious athleticism.
3rd over: Australia 9-1 (Healy 8, Perry 1) Marufa continues, still swinging them in sharply. Apparently there’s some rain forecast for later too, which is partly why Bangladesh wanted to chase. Marufa is bowling a tight line at the stumps, nothing to hit yet as Perry blocks.
If anyone at the BCB is reading, the mics on your live stream are having a lot of sporadic signal interference.
2nd over: Australia 8-1 (Healy 7, Perry 1) The old firm reunites, Perry joining Healy in the middle. They take a couple of singles, Healy chipping over midwicket with confidence.
WICKET! Litchfield b Sultana Khatun 0, Australia 6-1
Good ball, golden duck! An off-break to the left-hander, it straightens down the line and past the defensive back-foot shot, hitting the off-stump. Early strike for Bangladesh.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Healy 6, Litchfield 0) Marufa Akter with the ball, who bowls inswingers mostly at medium pace. The only seamer in this Bangladesh side. She gets put away by Healy on the pull shot when dropping short, with four runs following a two, but then Healy is dropped! Chips a mistimed drive back at the bowler, above her head, and Marufa leaps up and gets both hands to it but parries it behind herself.
Teams
Australia
Alyssa Healy + *
Phoebe Litchfield
Ellyse Perry
Beth Mooney
Tahlia McGrath
Ashleigh Gardner
Annabel Sutherland
Georgia Wareham
Alana King
Kim Garth
Megan Schutt
Bangladesh
Nigar Sultana (Joty) + *
Nahida Akter
Fargana Hoque
Sobhana Mostary
Murshida Khatun
Ritu Moni
Shorna Akter
Rabeya Khan
Fahima Khatun
Marufa Akter
Sultana Khatun
Bangladesh win the toss and bowl
Backing their spinners to keep the score down and chase something small. Not sure that’s the right move, Bangladesh historically haven’t chased well, whereas they can spook teams with spin when defending small targets. But they’re setting themselves the task today. It shows confidence, anyway!
The reason they’re playing ODIs as well as T20s is because it’s part of the ICC Championship, which is how qualification for the next 50-over World Cup is done in the women’s game. The top six teams for the 2022-2025 period qualify automatically, and the bottom four of the 10 teams in that league go into a qualifying even with other teams from outside the league.
Australia sit top of the table, unsurprisingly, after 15 of their 24 games, so they’re pretty much set to qualify. Bangladesh through are seventh, just outside the automatic spots, with a chance to snare one of those spots after a pretty good tournament so far.
Bangladesh so far have taken a win off India, a win off South Africa, and beat Pakistan 2-1 in their series. One of the Pakistan wins was tied and then won in a Super Over, while the India series included a tie that didn’t then go to a Super Over. So figure that out.
But four wins and a tie, plus they get two washouts against Sri Lanka and two against New Zealand, so four bonus points there. They’re well placed to challenge, and would love to spring a surprise on Australia to give that chance a boost.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Good morrow, travellers. We gather here for the Australian women’s team undertaking their mission to Bangladesh, a bit of an intelligence-gathering exercise ahead of the T20 World Cup that will take place here later this year. They’ll have three ODI matches and three T20s in this series, with the 50-over stuff starting today. We’re in Dhaka. Well, I’m not in Dhaka, and there’s a good chance you’re not either, although plenty of people are in Dhaka, it’s the kind of place with a lot of people in it.
22 of those people will be playing cricket. We will hopefully be watching.
There is no television coverage into Australia of this series, which is pretty poor from the networks that like to bill themselves as the home / cradle / birthplace of cricket, so we will be endeavouring to bring this to you via the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s YouTube stream. This is a known unknown, so bear with us if there are any glitches through the day. We’ll do our best, and get through this together.
