Ricky Ponting has delivered his most direct criticism yet of Australia’s top order, calling their Day 1 performance against Bangladesh in Darwin “very, very poor” and questioning whether the current batting group belongs at Test level.
“Once again, I think we saw the frailties in technique with this top order. 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 just to get 30 or 40. Keep your team in the contest, and once again, they weren’t good enough to do that yesterday.”
Ricky Ponting, Channel 7 broadcast, August 13, 2026
The word “again” is deliberate. Ponting has flagged the same technical problems through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the West Indies tour, and the T20 World Cup exit. Darwin was not a one-off. It was the latest chapter.
Australia were bowled out for 198 after choosing to bat at Marrara Cricket Ground. Hasan Mahmud took career-best figures of 6-55. Only Steve Smith’s 71 offered resistance. Ponting questioned the toss decision, noting Bangladesh had made just 54 in the warm-up game and Australian seamers would have been “near-on unplayable” on that surface. By Day 2 stumps, Bangladesh led by 153 with Tanzid Hasan scoring a century on his second Test appearance.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Insider Read:
When Ponting says “frailties in technique,” he is describing something the red ball exposes that white ball cricket hides.
Test cricket demands patience. The red Kookaburra swings, seams, and misbehaves off the surface in ways a white ball does not. A batter facing a new ball in Darwin with cloud cover and grass on the pitch needs tight footwork, a still head, and the discipline to leave anything outside off stump for the first 30 to 40 deliveries. That is where this top order keeps breaking down. The trigger movements are rushed. The front foot commits before the ball has shown its length. When a batter presses forward too early, a bowler like Mahmud bowling consistent good lengths at 135 kph does not need to do anything special. The batter creates his own dismissal.
This is a skill problem built over years. Extended time in franchise cricket trains batters to attack scoring opportunities. Test batting at the top of the order trains you to do the opposite: survive first, score second. When the balance tips toward attack, the hands get hard, the bat face opens, and the edges come. Ponting is watching an entire batting lineup that cannot switch modes.
Why Australia’s oldest Test side since 1928 faces a selection crisis
The Darwin XI was the oldest Australian Test team since 1928. Cameron Green, at 27, was the only player under 30.
“Go with a bit of gut-feel and pick on talent because what we’ve got in the current side now, and it has been for a couple of years, has not looked up to the mark of Test cricket level.”
Ricky Ponting, SEN’s Fireball, August 14, 2026
Ponting had publicly advocated for younger players like Campbell Kellaway and Ollie Peake for this series. Neither was picked. A two-Test series against Bangladesh at home was specifically suited for low-risk experimentation, and the selectors chose to persist with the same group instead.
Australia have 21 Tests ahead before the end of the World Test Championship cycle: home against New Zealand, away to South Africa, away to India, then the Ashes. Ponting estimates the team will use 16 to 18 players across this stretch regardless. The transitions will happen because the schedule forces them.
“I don’t know if they’re scared of making change, or deep down they know that there might not be anything better that’s waiting underneath.”
Ricky Ponting, SEN’s Fireball, August 14, 2026
The Darwin Test was supposed to be a comfortable start to that 12-month stretch. Instead, a 26-year-old Bangladesh seamer exposed exactly what Ponting has been warning about. When the scoreboard confirms what a former captain with 13,378 Test runs has been saying publicly for over a year, the conversation moves from opinion to evidence.
Ponting made these remarks across two platforms: the Channel 7 broadcast during the match (speaking with host Emma Freedman) and SEN’s Fireball radio show on August 14. No official response from Cricket Australia or the national selectors has been made at time of publication.
Also Read:
- Smith Snicko No Spike: The DRS Controversy in Darwin
- Smith Ties Root’s Test Catch Record
- Travis Head Is Not a True Opening Batter for the Ashes
- Shanto Wants Respect Before Bangladesh vs Australia Test
- Alex Carey: Ready to Promote Anything for Richardson
- Hazlewood Rested for Ashes: McDonald Told Him
- Gardner-Voll Affair: CA Selection Recusal
- Finch on Hazlewood, Boland, Smith and Australia
