Australia may have levelled the Test series against Bangladesh with a thumping second Test win, but former cricketer Matthew Hayden feels the game further exposed the home side’s batting woes.
Australia’s formidable pace attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and skipper Pat Cummins, along with spinner Nathan Lyon, rolled over the tourist cheaply to register an innings win in Mackay. However, Australia’s batters struggled, too, managing just 210 from their only innings, extending their recent poor form.
The bowling attack continues to strike fear into its opponents, but is likely approaching the final leg of its dominant run. While there are questions over how Australia will adapt to its departure, Hayden feels there are other pressing concerns.
“I don’t think that’s the real issue [bowling unit transition] amongst Australian cricket at the moment. The real issue is our batting unit, and how even Mackay left more questions over players within that top six than answers,” Hayden, who played over 100 Tests for Australia, told Sportstar.
“So Australia will have to continue to rebuild during this phase. It’s a phase where they’re a very dominant team, sitting on the World Test championship cycle at number one and are the number one ranked Test team. However, whether they like it or not, they’re in a period of transition, so how do they compromise dominance and transition? That’s the question that they’ll need to answer.”
Although Hayden had called for opener Matt Renshaw to find a place in the XI after Australia’s first Test defeat against Bangladesh, he backed the selectors’ decision to persist with proven players.
Hayden also cautioned against making changes for the sake of it, even as no. 3 batter Marnus Labuschagne, in particular, has continued to struggle.
“Success breeds success. Change also needs to be a silent, soft change, not a hard one. So there would be some compromise in that. Seeing a player like Marnus Labuschagne, for example, extending his run of selection, based on the fact that he has been a champion player for Australia. They’re difficult decisions.
“I think it’s very conscious of the fact that they don’t want to try and change the wheel right now… You saw already that there’s been one significant change [Renshaw for Jake Weatherald] after one loss. Imagine if there was another loss against Bangladesh and there would be another change. I think they generally get it right, however, there has to be an eye on the future as well,” said the former opener.
Hayden also addressed the Sheffield Shield’s current standing among key stakeholders in the country, urging them to adapt to its changing landscape.
“There are discussions that selectors and a State Association will have to have. They’ll need to understand if there is a player that’s isolated to one particular part of the game… and I think the game’s got enough to be able to supply options for those players. Not everyone wants to play Test Cricket, or there might be some players that only want to play Test Cricket, and that’s okay,” he said.
Published on Aug 26, 2026
