For the women’s team, this is their first trip Down Under for a bilateral series. Forget winning the series, even a single victory in the three-match contest appears a daunting prospect.
Bangladesh have played only six previous ODIs against Australia, and this will be just their second bilateral series and their first in Australia.
Their last meeting came at the World Cup last year, when Australia cruised to a 10-wicket win. Australia toured Bangladesh in 2024, winning the three-match series by margins of 116 runs, six wickets and eight wickets.
Australia’s dominance, however, is not limited to their record against Bangladesh. At home, they have been almost invincible. Since 2010, Australia have lost just seven of 71 ODIs on home soil, with a win-loss ratio of 8.2.
To make matters more difficult for Bangladesh, they have not been in the best of shape themselves.
A lot has happened within the team, including disappointing campaigns in the Asia Cup and the Asian Games, where they failed to reach the finals.
Longstanding captain Nigar Sultana Joty has expressed her desire to step down from the T20I captaincy, although the BCB has not officially confirmed the move. Joty, however, will continue as the ODI captain.
David Hemp has also replaced Sarwar Imran as head coach, with the former Bermuda batter joining the team directly in Brisbane.
Bangladesh have brought in some fresh faces, including pacer Habiba Islam and Disha Bishwash.
They began the tour with a 72-run defeat to a Queensland women’s side featuring several international players.
Sharmin Akter struck 67 and Sobhana Mostary made 49 as Bangladesh fell short in pursuit of 267 in 36.
Australia, who will be without regular captain Sophie Molineux, are not taking Bangladesh lightly, however.
All-rounder Nicola Carey pointed to Bangladesh’s skilled spinners, as well as quick Marufa Akter and other less familiar faces, as potential challenges.
‘We don’t play them that often, but we know they’ve got some great spinners,’ Carey said.
‘They're a competitive team, and cricket around the world, the standards are lifting every year, so we’re expecting a quality side in these three games as well.
‘We’re coming into this series full of confidence. I think we’re in a good spot, the girls know what they need to do and how they want to go about it.
‘There's a lot of focus on us and how we want to go about the game.’
The three matches are scheduled for October 9, 11 and 14, with all three fixtures to be played at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field.
Financial Mirror/AH
