‘Certainly, the toughest conditions to play’ – Matthew Wade after Australia’s 1-4 defeat in Bangladesh T20Is

Australian stand-in skipper Matthew Wade termed the conditions in Bangladesh the ‘toughest’ to play cricket in. In Aaron Finch’s absence, the left-hander had a tough time, both as a skipper and as a batter. The Aussies lost the five-match T20I series 1-4 after losing the last and final T20I by 60 runs.

The visitors were bowled out for 62 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. Wade started with two sixes but got out after a run-a-ball 22. Prior to the series against the Tigers, Australia also lost 1-4 at the hands of the West Indies back in July. The 33-year-old Wade was clear cut in saying that his team didn’t play the brand of cricket it was expected to.

“I’ve played for a few years now, certainly the toughest conditions to play T20 cricket in. Great learning for youngsters. Wasn’t our series, unfortunately. There are no excuses for not playing enough cricket. We had enough cricket in the West Indies to come and play good cricket, we just didn’t. Credit to Bangladesh, they did well,” Wade said.

Mitch Marsh continues to grow on these pitches: Matthew Wade

Mitchell Marsh was the brightest prospect in an otherwise shambolic performance from Australia. The right-hander became the leading run-scorer of the series with 156 runs at an average of 31.20 with one half-century. He was also the top run-getter in the West Indies T20Is where the other Aussie batters found it tough to get accustomed to the conditions.

Wade lauded Marsh for striving hard for success. Marsh was also amongst the wickets in the Caribbean, though he didn’t have much bowling to do in Bangladesh. Wade also praised the spinners for bowling well. In the last T20I, the Aussies used four spin-bowling options and restricted the Tigers to 122.

“Our spinners were exceptional. Mitch Marsh continues to grow on these pitches, he’s had to work hard for it. Our bowling was good, but we just didn’t have enough runs on the board. We’ve got to find a way to get better in spinning conditions. Batting in spinning conditions is our biggest takeaway. We were not getting beaten by big margins barring today. The biggest positive is that young guys got exposure in these conditions,” Wade added.