Published on: Aug 18, 2026 3:43 pm IST|Updated on: Aug 18, 2026 3:43 pm IST
Cricket Australia has taken a call out of desperation after a humiliating loss at the hands of Bangladesh by 9 wickets in the first Test in Darwin. Left-hand opening batter Jake Weatherald has been left out of the 13-man squad for the second Test in Mackay. He has been replaced by a fellow left-hander, the Queenslander Matt Renshaw.
Weatherald, in his previous outing at Darwin, scored 23 in the first innings and a duck in the second. If we take a look at his overall short-lived Test career, the left-hander has managed 224 runs from six matches at an average of 20.36 since he featured throughout last season’s Ashes.
Before the series began, Weatherald spoke openly about the reality of top-level cricket:
“You are required to make runs all the time. I’ve got a good opportunity to play two games, hopefully, and make runs, get four innings to do that. If I don’t do that then I put fate in someone else’s hands.”
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald addressed the technical changes Weatherald brought to his game, noting the difficulty of judging adjustments over small match samples:
“Yeah, there was some change to Jake in terms of where he lined up and his movement patterns. It’s always hard to critique small sample sizes, whether it holds up. Drag one on, drove a one in the first innings and was dismissed. So it’s probably harder with that smaller sample size to say, yep, that’s going to hold up under pressure.”
Queensland’s left-hand batter Matt Renshaw has earned a recall to the Test squad. He last featured for Australia in red-ball cricket back in 2023. Having played 14 tests, Matt has scored 245 runs at an average of 29.31, which includes 3 fifties and a ton.
His inclusion brings proven domestic form back into the national squad. The 30-year-old Queenslander enjoyed a standout Sheffield Shield season, racking up 499 runs across 10 innings at an average of 49.90, including three centuries. If Renshaw is included in the eleven for the Mackay Test, he will be opening the innings alongside Travis Head.
Australia Squad: Pat Cummins (C), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (WK), Scott Boland, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (WK), Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith.
Not often do you see Australia on the back foot during a Test series at home. But this has been the case for them this time around, after Bangladesh humiliated the Aussies in the first Test at Darwin by 9 wickets. After that loss, a series clean sweep is looming over the Australian side at home, something that last happened way back in 1886-87 when England cleaned swept the Aussies at home in a two-match Test series 2-0.
Take a look at Australia’s best possible XI that could feature in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay.
Travis Head, Matt Renshaw/Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Beau Webster, Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins (C), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood