'Frailties in technique': Ricky Ponting slams Australia's top order following collapse in 1st Test vs Bangladesh originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Ricky Ponting criticised Australia's top order after they were bowled out for just 198 in Darwin against Bangladesh. Steve Smith was the lone bright spot with 71 runs, admitting the current batting conditions are among the toughest he's faced. The collapse marks the third straight home season in which Australia's openers have crumbled inside 200 runs on day one.
Ricky Ponting blasts Australia's top-order flaws after collapse vs Bangladesh Ricky Ponting didn't mince his words after watching Australia's top order fold yet again, this time against Bangladesh in Darwin. This was supposed to be the start of a defining year for Australian Test cricket: 21 matches over 12 months, a first tour of South Africa since the sandpaper saga back in 2018, four Tests against New Zealand at home, and a five-match trip to India all lined up. Instead, the summer's begun with a familiar and uncomfortable sight as Australia's batters limped back in the sheds far too early. Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch that was clearly offering the bowlers something. Australia were skittled for 198, with only Steve Smith managing to really get himself in and stay there. MORE: 'More than England managed during Ashes': Cricket World reacts as Bangladesh dominate Australia on Day 2 in Darwin Test Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud ran through the rest of the line-up, finishing with career-best figures of six for 55, and suddenly a tricky first morning had turned into a worrying collapse. And Ponting didn't hold back when assessing the display. "You know, we're not asking guys to go out and get 100 or 200 out there, but we need our top order to find a way," he said, before turning his attention to the technical side of things. "Once again, I think we saw the frailties in technique with this top order," he added.
How did Steve Smith explain the batting struggles? Smith top-scored with 71, though even his innings wasn't exactly smooth sailing. He was dropped in the slips on 2, later admitted to edging one off Ebadot Hossain on 7 that the stump mic somehow missed, and confessed his old habit of "losing his hands" had crept back in during the innings. Despite all that, he was the only Australian to stick around at the crease for more than 70 minutes. Smith was refreshingly honest afterwards, making clear the squad couldn't blame anything but themselves given the intra-squad simulation games they'd played in Brisbane beforehand. "I've said for a while that batting at the top of the order in Australia at the moment is as tough as I've seen in my career – by a mile," he said. MORE: Most catches by a fielder in Test cricket: Can Steve Smith break Joe Root’s record? "The ball's seaming significantly. It's extremely tricky and you need some luck definitely as a top-order batter. The guys got off to a decent start today … and then we obviously lost a few in clumps there. "I think top-order batting at the moment in Australia, in particular New Zealand even with the Kookaburra ball, South Africa I'm guessing is similar as well with their Kookaburra ball, it's as hard as I've seen in my career." Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and the relatively inexperienced Jake Weatherald will all be desperate to put things right in the second innings. All three have been averaging somewhere between 22 and 26 over the past couple of years, and Weatherald in particular is still finding his feet, having played just six Tests since debuting during the Ashes. MORE: Full list of Bangladesh batters to score century in Australia: Tanizd creates history
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Technique or conditions: who's really to blame for Australia's collapse against Bangladesh? There's truth in both Ponting's criticism and Smith's defence, but leaning too hard on tricky conditions alone lets a repeating pattern off the hook. It's now the third home season running where Australia's batters have been bowled out inside 200 in their opening Test. They managed just 104 against India in 2024-25 and 132 versus England the season after that, both in Perth. Cricket Australia shifted the start of the summer up to Darwin, but clearly that hasn't fixed whatever's going wrong at the top of the order; if anything, it's just moved the same problem to a new postcode. MORE: Smith admits to nicking Mahmud's delivery which was given not out Ponting's right to call out technique specifically, because good techniques survive tough conditions more often than shaky ones do, even against high-quality bowling. With 21 Tests and an Ashes series on the horizon, Australia can't afford to keep treating each collapse as an isolated bad day. Somewhere between technique and conditions lies the real issue, and until Cricket Australia's top order figures out which one to fix first, these top-order wobbles look set to keep happening. For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary and to share your voice, head to our Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) pages