Mackay's maiden Test flashes past in just five sessions

The overriding sentiment around Great Barrier Reef Arena over the weekend was gratitude, until the cricket disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. Fans had driven from Rockhampton to Clairview and filled the grassbank and boutique stands for Mackay’s official entry on the Test map, with tickets sold out for what was meant to be Day 3 on Monday.

Instead the match became the shortest Test on Australian soil in nearly a century, the third of seven Tests in Australia over the last nine months to end in under two days. Twelve of the 35 scheduled days have not been required in that span.

A Gabba-style pitch, a rapid collapse

Head curator Peter Kazakoff recreated a surface straight out of the Gabba, where he learned his trade under Kevin Mitchell Jnr. The wicket offered steep bounce early, quickened as the match progressed, and stayed true enough for seam and swing in a healthy breeze that aided left-armers Mitchell Starc and Shoriful Islam.

It was not a surface that should have produced the mayhem that followed in 125 overs. The breakdown of 30 wickets points more to batting errors than pure bowling excellence, even though two outstanding individual displays defined the contest.

Mitchell Starc ripped through Bangladesh with 6 for 12 in the first few hours on Saturday, starting with Shadman Islam being caught off the very first delivery. Shoriful Islam then replied with a masterclass in swing and length on his first Test in Australia, arguably the best bowling performance by a Bangladeshi on foreign soil.

Green and Smith stand apart

For Australia, the top order struggled against the same kind of examination they will face in South Africa in October, adding to a growing batting concern. The exceptions were Cameron Green and Steve Smith.

Smith was in sublime touch before falling to a borderline LBW decision from umpire Kumar Dharmasena. Green, fresh from his third Test century in Darwin, showed greater poise in Mackay, compiling a 105-ball 67 while maintaining calm and intent as wickets fell around him.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s dismissal — an incomprehensible shot off Nathan Lyon straight to Starc at long-off — summed up a second innings in which the visitors appeared to tap out of the challenge early.

Australia will count the result as a convincing comeback to level the series after Darwin, but the performance underlined a wider malaise: batters not displaying the temperament or technique to fight, even in conditions that suited them.

Monday morning should have brought a capacity crowd back to Great Barrier Reef Arena. Instead, action shifted to Mackay Airport as players made premature exits, leaving locals to ponder what could have been. They will still have Starc’s first-ball wicket and the energy of the dozens of Bangladeshi fans who travelled with flags and colour, but Mackay deserved a lot better than five sessions of Test cricket.