Would have much preferred 2-0: Smith
Coming into the Chittagong Test 0-1 down in the series, Australia were desperate to win and draw a series that most cricket followers would have expected them to win comfortably. After the thumping seven-wicket win late on the fourth day at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, one would have expected a relieved visiting skipper at the post-match press conference.
However, Steve Smith, while happy with the win, seemed more eager to talk about the shortcomings in a still-developing Australia side, revealing a bit of what makes the Australian cricket culture such a successful and formidable one.
“We would have much preferred 2-0 but it's nice to get over the line here and have a 1-1 draw. I still think we have a lot of improvement in us,” said Smith when asked to comment on the series result. As comprehensive as the result was by the time the fourth evening rolled around, Smith found fault with their performance in this match too.
“We probably let ourselves down at times throughout this Test match. I thought our first-innings bowling was very good to restrict them. Our first-innings batting, obviously the partnership between Petey [Pete Handscomb] and Davey [David Warner] was fantastic. And then we got ourselves into one of our collapses.
“I think we've had 15 collapses in our last 14 games, our analyst told me yesterday [Wednesday]. That's not good enough for an Australian cricket team.”
While the rest of the players, including Smith himself, performed small but essential roles in the 1-1 draw, there were really only two performers for Australia – opener David Warner with a century in each Test and player-of-the series Nathan Lyon with 22 wickets, including a haul of 13 for 154 in Chittagong.
“I thought Davey was magnificent. Obviously after the first innings he changed his game and found a style to play in these conditions. And the energy in his feet and the way he used his feet were spectacular. So, hopefully he can continue to do that in these conditions and continue to dominate,” Smith said.
Although Lyon has three innings hauls of six or more wickets across the two Tests, Smith singled out the off-spinner's seven for 94 in the first innings of the second Test, after the hosts won a crucial toss, for special praise.
“In the first innings, the wicket really wasn't offering a great deal. I thought the way he just hit that right area, particularly with the new ball, skidding it on and hitting a few guys in front -- that was the perfect way to bowl. To take 22 wickets in a two-match series is remarkable.”
The series seemed to have imbued Smith with a new respect for Bangladesh, the team that punched above its weight to bring Test heavyweights Australia down a notch in the Test rankings to number five.
“It'd be good. 11 years is a long time,” he said when asked whether they would want to play Bangladesh sooner than the 11 years it has taken for them to revisit the country they last toured in 2006. “I think the way they played over here was exceptional. They obviously beat us in the first Test and challenged us again out here. If we get another opportunity to play against them, that'd be great.”
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