Starc's cricket master-class: 6 1st-innings wickets for Australia against Bangladesh

MACKAY: Mitchell Starc removed Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam with the first ball of the match and the veteran Australian fast bowler took six wickets in the first innings of the second cricket test Saturday.

Key points

• Starc's figures were 6-12 in 10 overs and Cummins finished with three wickets.
• His fifth wicket came when he had Litton Das trapped lbw and his sixth after lunch.
• "Six (wickets) in the first session, can't beat that, " Starc informed his wife, television commentator and former Australia captain Alyssa Healy while walking off the field at lunch.
• Australia confirmed a 13-man squad earlier this week, with only one change for the second test.
• Islam was caught in the gully off a leading edge to offer Starc his record fourth career wicket on the first ball of a match.

After Australia won the toss and decided to bowl, with captain Pat Cummins suggesting "the wicket looks pretty good, but if there is any moisture in it, it might be this morning." Starc proved Cummins correct and Bangladesh was bowled out for 64 runs shortly after lunch.

Meanwhile, the highest Bangladesh score was by No. 11 batter Shoriful Islam with 14.

Islam was caught in the gully off a leading edge to offer Starc his record fourth career wicket on the first ball of a match. Starc removed Tanzid Hasan and had captain Najmul Hossain Shanto caught lbw in the third over to leave Bangladesh. It surprisingly won the first test of the two-test series, reeling.

Starc obtained his fourth wicket when Cameron Green produced a grass-top catch to remove Mominul Haque for 9, the only Bangladesh batter to score a run among the first four batters Saturday. His fifth wicket came when he had Litton Das trapped lbw and his sixth after lunch.

Starc's figures were 6-12 in 10 overs and Cummins finished with three wickets. The Bangladesh total was the lowest while batting first in Australia since 1932 when South Africa was dismissed for 36.

"Six (wickets) in the first session, can't beat that, " Starc informed his wife, television commentator and former Australia captain Alyssa Healy while walking off the field at lunch. "Obviously a little bit of anger."

Australia confirmed a 13-man squad earlier this week, with only one change for the second test. It dropped Jake Weatherald and recalled Matt Renshaw. This person opened the batting but was out for 8 early in the Australian innings.

Meanwhile, the match began under sunny skies at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, a coastal city in Queensland state regarding 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the capital Brisbane.

Bangladesh's first test win in Australia put pressure on national cricket selectors for an overhaul, but the bulk of the aging squad was retained despite being outplayed in Darwin, where the likes of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Hasan created the most of the tropical conditions.

For context, the two-test "Top End" series starts a heavy 12-month schedule for the Australians that will feature 20 test matches, including tours to South Africa, India and England.

In short, starc' s cricket master-class: 6 1st-innings wickets for Australia against Bangladesh is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.