Australia confirm playing XI for second Test vs Bangladesh — Matt Renshaw returns as opener

An hour after Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, reckoned that they could leave out Nathan Lyon to go with a four-man pace attack, the lone spinner of the side retained his place in the XI for the second Test in Mackay. They had been hopeful of earning a victory in this encounter and square the series by a 1-1 margin.

Australia have gone through the footage from the Australia A vs India A game played at this ground in October 2024, where none of the first innings totals crossed the 200-run mark, with Brendan Doggett and Mukesh Kumar celebrating six-wicket hauls with the ball.

Matt Renshaw recalled to open the batting in place of Jake Weatherald after three years away

In the pre-match press conference, Cummins confirmed that Matt Renshaw would make his Test comeback at the top of the batting order. Lyon hasn’t missed a home red-ball game since 2012, when he sat out against the Indian side at the WACA, and none of them came after 2013.

However, the spinner was out of the eleven for the two pink-ball Tests in Jamaica and Gabba last season. Spin played a massive role in the Sheffield Shield clash at this ground in 2023, when Mitchell Swepson picked up five wickets, although the game was later in the season.

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“I think it's largely conditions-based. If you think there's a good chance that in the first or second innings [of the match] you're going to take ten with mainly the quicks relatively quickly, and perhaps the fourth innings isn't going to break up, that's a lot of the decision.” Cummins expressed before the XI was named.

Australia’s Playing XI vs Bangladesh-

1 Travis Head, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Pat Cummins (captain), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Cummins & co. aim to level the series in Mackay after a stunning nine-wicket defeat in Darwin

Matt Renshaw will turn out for his 15th Test and his first since 2023. He averaged 49.90 in the Sheffield Shield last season with three centuries and has been superb on his arrival to their white-ball series. He was a late inclusion to the T20 World Cup 2026 squad earlier this year when he replaced Matt Short. 

“We just want his best. I think some of the kind of chat about Renners in the past is that he can look different from day to day. I think now, when you get to the back half of your career as a batter, you want to really know what you look like at your best, and I think he does that.” Cummins noted.

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In the opening Test of the series, Australia’s batting couldn’t do well at all as they were bundled out for just 198 and 284 in the two innings. Bangladesh earned a nine-wicket win in the clash, as the hosts will hope to square the series by a 1-1 margin.