Steve Smith averages 90.81 against West Indies in Test cricket. Against Bangladesh, that number is 39.42. No other opponent comes close to producing that kind of drop from a batter who has scored 37 Test centuries across eight nations.
Bangladesh is the only Test-playing country where Smith has never reached three figures. In 7 innings across 4 Tests spanning nine years, his highest score is 71. He has faced India on turning pitches and averaged 58.90. He has taken on England’s pace attacks 74 times and averaged 56.10. But against Bangladesh, something consistently stalls.
2017: Spin on Day-One Turners
Smith first faced Bangladesh in August 2017 during Australia’s tour of Dhaka and Chittagong. He arrived having scored centuries in four of his previous five Tests in Asia. Bangladesh’s spinners ended that run immediately.
In Dhaka, Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled him for 8 in the first innings. Smith advanced down the pitch, got to the ball, and somehow missed it entirely. It hit leg stump. In the second innings, Shakib Al Hasan drew a feather edge to the keeper for 37. Bangladesh won by 20 runs, their first-ever Test victory over Australia.
“We just weren’t good enough on this occasion. The batting in the first innings let us down.”
Steve Smith, post-match press conference, Dhaka, August 2017
Smith managed 58 in the first innings at Chittagong before Taijul Islam got him playing around a straight delivery. Australia won the second Test by 7 wickets to level the series 1-1, but Smith’s combined output for the tour read: 8, 37, 58, 16. Four innings, 119 runs, average 29.75. Zero centuries.
| Match | Venue | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Test, 2017 | Dhaka | 8 | 37 | Bangladesh won by 20 runs |
| 2nd Test, 2017 | Chittagong | 58 | 16 | Australia won by 7 wickets |
| 1st Test, 2026 | Darwin | 71 | 44 | Bangladesh won by 9 wickets |
| 2nd Test, 2026 | Mackay | 42 | — | Australia won by innings and 51 runs |
The 2026 Series Changed the Pattern, Not the Outcome
Nine years later, Bangladesh toured Australia for a Test series for the first time. The conditions were completely different. Fast, bouncy pitches in Darwin and Mackay. No day-one turners. No Shakib spinning through lineups. This time, Bangladesh’s pace attack did the damage.
Smith walked out at Darwin’s Marrara Stadium on August 13 with Australia already wobbling at 52 for 2. He later admitted the start of his innings was a mess.
“I actually forgot how to hold the bat for my first 30 balls. I’m not going to lie.”
Steve Smith, post-match press conference, Darwin, August 2026
He survived a dropped catch at third slip on 2, edged through a gap between slip and gully, and benefited from a DRS decision where Snicko flatlined despite Smith feeling contact. He fought to 71 before top-edging a short ball from Hasan Mahmud. In the second innings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught and bowled him for 44. Bangladesh won by 9 wickets, their first Test victory on Australian soil.
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In the Mackay 2nd Test, Shoriful Islam trapped Smith lbw for 42. Another start. Another failure to convert. Australia won by an innings and 51 runs on the back of Mitchell Starc’s 10-wicket haul, but Smith’s personal record against Bangladesh remained unchanged: four Tests, seven innings, zero centuries.
His 2026 numbers against Bangladesh read 71, 44, 42: three scores between 40 and 75, each one ending before it could become anything definitive. Combined with 2017, that is seven innings where Smith has passed 30 five times but never gone beyond 71.
Insider Read
Smith’s batting is built on deep movement. He shuffles across his stumps, gets his front foot planted well forward, and uses wrist rotation to work the ball into gaps. On Australian and English pitches, where the ball comes on predictably for the first two days, this method is devastating. He averages 90.81 against West Indies and 67.00 against Sri Lanka in conditions that suit his rhythm.
On surfaces where spin grips from ball one, as it did in Dhaka and Chittagong in 2017, the timing of that front-foot lunge changes entirely. The ball is not sliding through. It is biting, turning, and sometimes holding its line. A batter who commits forward as aggressively as Smith does on predictable surfaces suddenly finds himself caught in no-man’s land. Mehidy bowling him through the gate in Dhaka was not a fluke. It was the direct consequence of a method designed for pace and bounce meeting a surface designed for grip and turn. Even in 2026, on Australian pitches, it was Mehidy who dismissed Smith in Darwin’s second innings, caught and bowled. The spin factor follows him against this opponent regardless of the continent.
Also Read:
Mitchell Starc’s 10-Wicket Haul Demolishes Bangladesh in Mackay
Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, and Steve Smith’s Roles in Australian Cricket
