Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Langer Calls Two-Day Tests Unacceptable After Australia Levels Bangladesh Series
Australia and Bangladesh played a two-match Test cricket series.
Bangladesh won the first match in Darwin by nine wickets.
Australia won the second match in Mackay by a very large margin.
The match ended in less than two days.
Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets for Australia.
Bangladesh scored only 95 runs in its second innings.
Former Australian player Justin Langer said matches ending so quickly are bad for cricket.
He believes many batters need to improve their basic footwork and batting skills.
Australia defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 51 runs in Mackay to level the two-match series 1-1.
Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets as Australia completed the victory inside six sessions.
Bangladesh were dismissed for 95 in their second innings after making 64 in the first.
Justin Langer said two-day Tests harm crowds, young fans, grassroots cricket and Cricket Australia financially.
Langer attributed quick dismissals mainly to declining basic batting technique and poor footwork rather than pitch conditions.
- Who
- Australia, Bangladesh, Mitchell Starc and former Australia opener Justin Langer.
- What
- Australia defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 51 runs, drawing the two-match Test series 1-1.
- When
- Australia completed the victory on Sunday; Australia will next play South Africa in October.
- Where
- The second Test was played in Mackay, after the opening match in Darwin.
- Why
- Australia won through a dominant bowling performance, while Langer criticized the increasing number of two-day Tests and attributed rapid dismissals largely to poor batting technique.
Langer's Criticism
Alternative Explanations
Cause of short Tests
Langer's Criticism
Justin Langer said declining basic batting technique, including poor footwork, is a major reason batters are dismissed quickly.
Alternative Explanations
Langer said some people instead point to pitches, curators or movement from the ball, but he rejected those explanations as sufficient.
Impact on cricket
Langer's Criticism
Langer argued that two-day Tests hurt crowds, young fans, grassroots cricket and Cricket Australia's finances.
Alternative Explanations
The article reports the match's sporting result and does not provide a separate response from players, officials or curators defending short Tests.
- Series result
- Australia and Bangladesh drew the two-match Test series 1-1.
- Match result
- Australia won by an innings and 51 runs.
- Match duration
- The Test ended inside six sessions.
- Mitchell Starc
- The Australian left-arm pacer took 10 wickets in the match.
- Bangladesh second innings
- Bangladesh were dismissed for 95.
- Justin Langer's criticism
- He called two-day Test matches unacceptable for the game.
- Australia's next series
- Australia will travel to South Africa in October for a three-match Test series.