Mitchell Starc claimed a 10-wicket match haul — his best in a home Test — as Australia crushed Bangladesh by an innings and 51 runs in Mackay on 23 August, levelling the two-match series and completing one of the most dominant victories in recent Australian cricket history. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon took three wickets each as Bangladesh were dismissed for a combined 159 runs across two innings.

A Test for the Record Books

The match lasted just 750 balls, making it the shortest Test played in Australia in nearly a century — surpassing even the two-day Ashes Tests held in Perth and Melbourne the previous summer, as well as the 2022-23 Gabba Test against South Africa. It was Australia's third two-day Test in seven such matches on home soil, a statistic that underlines just how dominant conditions — and the hosts — proved to be at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Harrup Park.

Notably, Bangladesh became only the second team in 21 years to be dismissed for double figures twice in the same Test match — falling for 64 in their first innings and adding just 95 in their second. Australia's all-out score of 210 was reportedly the lowest total to have produced an innings victory in 80 years.

Starc's Masterclass: 10 for 51

Starc was the architect of the rout. After claiming six wickets in Bangladesh's first innings, he returned to take four more in the second, finishing with career-best home figures of 10 for 51. When Starc was handed the new ball before lunch on the final day, the crowd on the eastern hill of Harrup Park sensed what was coming.

Shadman Islam fell to Starc for the second time in 24 hours, and Mominul Haque was bowled for a golden duck. Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto avoided a king pair but was eventually caught at long-off, deceived by a Nathan Lyon delivery drifting on the winter breeze. Litton Das was dismissed by Starc for the third consecutive time in the series without scoring, extending a miserable tour with the bat. Lyon then wrapped up the tail, taking the final two wickets in three deliveries after tea to seal the result.

Green's Grit and a Record-Setting Low

Cameron Green continued his outstanding series with the bat, top-scoring in the match with 67 — following his 104 in the Darwin Test — before being undone by a fierce in-swinger from Shoriful Islam. Green's partnership contributions helped Australia reach 210, with their last two wickets adding 62 runs, more than a quarter of the total.

Shoriful's figures of 7 for 48 were the best by a visiting bowler in Australia since Curtly Ambrose's 7 for 25 in Perth in 1993, according to reports — but the effort came in a losing cause. Tanzid Hasan, who had scored a century in Darwin, registered his third single-digit score since that innings, caught at long-leg off Cummins.

Series Level After Darwin Shock

The victory marked a sharp turnaround for Australia, who had suffered a historic defeat in Darwin in the first Test. The Mackay result levels the series and restores the expected order, though Bangladesh's performance in Darwin — and Shoriful's bowling throughout — signals that the visitors are no longer the easy opponents they once were at this level. The result leaves both sides with one win apiece, setting up a series decider should a third match be scheduled.