Australia complete an innings victory

Bangladesh 97 and 178 (Bashar 54, Al Sahariar 36; MacGill 5-65) lost to Australia 407 for 7 dec
Scorecard
Day 2 Bulletin

Man of the Match Steve Waugh applauds the crowd

Australia just upped the pressure and Bangladesh folded 7.1 overs after lunch on the third day of their first Test in Darwin today, the home side completing a comprehensive win by an innings and 132 runs.

The end came quickly for Bangladesh, who lost their last nine wickets for 89 runs. It was their ninth loss in 20 Tests in under three days, and their 11th innings defeat in the last 13 Tests. Stuart MacGill had a good day on the field and finished with 5 for 65, his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests.

Bangladesh paid the price for the loss of three topand middle-order batsmen in the space of eight balls near the end of the morning session. They proved unable to read, or negotiate, MacGill's wrong 'un and while some lusty hitting - more desperation than calculated counter-attack - reduced the final margin of defeat, it was still another debilitating loss for the tourists against an Australian side that was still not firing on a full head of steam.

The Test was played on a slow wicket, and Australia, at this time of the year, would generally have expected to be relaxing at home, following their favourite football teams during the winter. The early finish today will probably allow them to catch the action on television from the comfort of their hotel suites.

Steve Waugh was named man of the match and gained exclusive ownership of the title of the most successful captain in Test cricket history to go alongside the various other records this team has secured under his leadership. His 37 Test victories were one more than Clive Lloyd enjoyed during his time in charge of West Indies. And there was the satisfaction, for one who is imbued with the tradition of the game, of completing a century against each of the opposing nine nations - something he shares with South Africa's Gary Kirsten.

For Bangladesh, Habibul Bashar showed why he has to be regarded as their best batsman, and it was significant that after his dismissal for 54, his 12th half-century, the rot set into the innings. Going to lunch at 142 for 6, it was only a matter of time before the end came, a process Jason Gillespie sped up when he bowled Khaled Mahmud for five off the last ball of the first over after the break.

Moshrafe Mortaza, in typical fast bowler's style, relished the chance to swing the willow like an axe. He hammered 14 runs from a MacGill over, including a six and two fours, but his six-ball innings was ended when Darren Lehmann ran him out with a direct hit from backward square leg.

Al Sahariar dominated the latter part of the innings with some attacking strokeplay, and it was his dismissal for 36, caught and bowled by MacGill running toward the cover region, that ended the match.

The off-season cricket roadshow heads across to the east coast for the second Test starting in Cairns on Friday but given the continuing incapacity of Bangladesh's batsmen to build an innings by graft and application it is difficult to see the result being any different.