Australia succumbed to their first ever T20I series defeat against Bangladesh. In a low-scoring series, the Australian batters had no answers to Bangladesh’s bowling unit. In the last T20I, they were bundled out for 62 to surrender the series 1-4. Let us take a look at how each player fared in the series.
Mitchell Marsh 9 (M 5, R 156, SR 99, W 0)
Another terrific outing for Marsh, who has as good as sealed a spot for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. With 156 runs, he finished as the leading run-getter of the series. He made 45 in the first two T20Is, and followed it with a half-century in the third.
Josh Hazlewood 8.5 (M 4, W 8, Ec 5.42)
Hazlewood finished as the joint leading wicket-taker, along with Nasum Ahmed. He claimed three wickets in the opening game, and two in the fourth, to restrict Bangladesh to 104.
Nathan Ellis 8 (M 2, W 5, Ec 6.25)
In the third match, Ellis became the first cricketer to do the hat-trick on T20I debut. He missed the subsequent game, and picked up two wickets in the last encounter.
Andrew Tye 7 (M 3, W 5, Ec 6.70)
Tye bagged three wickets in the last T20I, albeit in a losing cause. He played the first two games, picking a wicket each, before losing his place for the next two.
Adam Zampa 7 (M 4, W 5, Ec 6.25)
Zampa picked up five wickets in four games, and also reached the 50-wicket mark in T20Is for Australia. He is now their leading wicket-taker.
Mitchell Swepson 6 ( M 2, W 3, Ec 4.33)
Swepson picked up three wickets in the fourth T20I but went wicketless in the last game. He will have to fight with Zampa and Ashton Agar for a place in the T20 World Cup.
Ashton Agar 6 (M 5, R 36, SR 82, W 3, Ec 5.60)
With three wickets in five matches in spin-friendly conditions, Agar was the least impactful of the Australian spinners.
Dan Christian 5.5 (M 3, R 49, SR 175, W 2, Econ 4.33)
Christian’s 15-ball 39 in the fourth T20I helped Australia win the only game of the series. He did not do much apart from that, and is highly unlikely to break into the World Cup squad.
Mitchell Starc 5 (M 2, W 3, Ec 8.71)
Unable to make an impact, Starc lost his place after the first two games. The conditions were not favourable for him, and Australia decided to trade him for the extra spinner. While expensive, he became the first Australian to take 50 T20I wickets.
Ashton Turner 4 (M 5, R 21, SR 53)
Turner had an ordinary series, where he amassed 21 runs across five matches.
Ben McDermott 4 (M 3, R 57, SR 83)
McDermott squandered each opportunity he got on the tour. A total of 57 runs in three games is certainly not enough to retain a place.
Alex Carey 3.5 (M 5, R 35, SR 88)
Carey’s unbeaten 20 in the third T20I was his highest score. In the other four games, he aggregated just 15 runs.
Josh Philippe 3 (M 2, R 19, SR 100)
It was a great opportunity for Philippe to showcase his talent in the absence of David Warner and Aaron Finch. But the conditions were not easy, and like everyone else, he struggled to score.
Matthew Wade 3 (M 5, R 42, SR 70)
Wade struggled, both as captain and batter, aggregating 42 runs in five matches. It remains to be seen whether the team management persists with him.