The focus ahead of the second Test between Australia and Bangladesh will be firmly on the  hosts and how they respond after an extraordinary opening match. Australia will have to  regroup and gather themselves after what was a very poor performance in the first Test,  and there are already some interesting selection decisions made ahead of the second  game. 

Dropping Jake Weatherald seems like a strange decision making for me. It is a decision  that I cannot sit comfortably with. At the start of what is going to be a substantial summer  of Test cricket for Australia, Weatherald was picked for the first Test. He then had a difficult  game with the bat, scoring 20 and 0, and suddenly he is not considered good enough to  play the second Test of a two-match series. 

That is difficult to understand. If Australia wanted Matt Renshaw to play, then perhaps he  should have been selected for the first Test. If Weatherald was picked for the first Test, he  should have been given the opportunity to play both Tests and prove himself at Test level.  

Dropping him after one Test, particularly after he was given the opportunity to start the  series, makes it feel as though he has become the scapegoat for what was a really poor  performance from the other 10 players. 

I feel for Weatherald because he would probably have expected to get at least another two  innings to show what he could do at Test level. Instead, he has been left out after one  match. It is a strange decision, particularly given that this is only a two-Test series. 

At the same time, the decision does give Renshaw an opportunity. Interestingly, Renshaw  has played well at this ground before. The Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay is now  Australia’s 12th Test venue and this will be the first Test match played there. There has not  been a huge amount of first-class cricket played at the ground, but Renshaw has scored  two hundreds there. 

That gives him a degree of confidence and familiarity heading into the game. He also  comes into the Test with runs and form from the domestic season. There is plenty for  Renshaw to feel positive about, particularly given his previous performances at this  ground. But the question remains: if he is going to play the second Test, why was he not  playing the first?

Another player who will be under significant pressure is Marnus Labuschagne. There is  really no other way of looking at it. If he does not score runs in this Test match, I would not  be surprised if he was left out. The timing is particularly interesting because this is the  second and final Test of the Bangladesh series. 

Labuschagne is a high-quality player, and there is no question about his history, the runs  he has scored and everything he has achieved over a long period of time. But Australia  need their number three to be at his very best. They need Labuschagne to find his form,  and therefore a lot of attention will be on him in this Test. 

The venue itself also presents something of an unknown for both teams. The most recent  multi-day match at the ground was back in October 2024, when Australia A beat India A.  That means neither side will have a huge amount of knowledge to draw on when it comes  to Test-match conditions at the venue. 

Obviously, these are Australian conditions, so you would expect there to be a little bit of  bounce as well. Beyond that, there does not appear to be a reason to expect Australia to  make wholesale changes to their team. 

I still expect Australia to stick with the same balance of the side. They have a high-class  team, and although it sounds strange to describe a side that played so poorly in the first  Test in those terms, they have the quality to bounce back. 

I fully expect Australia to win this Test match. I expect them to have the bit between their  teeth, respond strongly and find their best form. There is no doubt that they need to put in a  much better performance, but I would not expect many other changes. 

There could perhaps be a discussion about bringing Scott Boland into the side, but I do not  see that happening. Australia already have the bowling options they need with Josh  Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. They have the names and the quality already  in the team. 

Cameron Green came good in the last Test, and they will be hoping Nathan Lyon can do  likewise. Aussies need to simply put up a much better performance. 

For Bangladesh, there is an interesting selection issue of their own. Shoriful Islam is now  available after missing the first Test. He is one of their frontline pace bowlers, and his  availability creates a difficult decision for the selectors.

The obvious question is why you would change a winning side, particularly a side that  produced such a historic victory. It almost seems unfair and unreal to change a team that  performed so well. But sometimes, particularly at this level of sport, emotions have to be  taken out of selection decisions. 

If Shoriful Islam is viewed as one of Bangladesh’s best seamers, then I think they have to  play him. Shoriful Islam and Rana would probably be their frontline two seamers if both  were available and fully fit. If Shoriful is considered one of their best options, then he has to  play. 

That could mean someone who performed really well in the last game has to miss out. It  could mean one of the seamers who played so well in the first Test is left out. But that is  the reality of top-level sport. There cannot be too much emotion involved in a decision like  that. You have to pick what you believe is your best side. 

If Shoriful Islam is in Bangladesh’s best side, then regardless of what happened in the last  game, he has to play. 

There is a similar situation surrounding Soumya Sarkar. He is an experienced opening  batter and could potentially come into the team, but it would be difficult to see Bangladesh  dropping Tanzid Hasan after his performance in the first Test. Tanzid scored a hundred and  played brilliantly, so I would be surprised if they made that change. 

Again, if Bangladesh did decide to make that change, they would be doing so because they  believed it was in the best interests of the side. That is what the selectors will have to  consider.  

There will also be some focus on Mushfiqur Rahim. He is 158 runs away from becoming  Bangladesh’s first player to score 7,000 Test runs. That would be a terrific achievement for  him and gives the second Test another personal milestone to watch. 

For Bangladesh, the biggest challenge will be ensuring that they approach the game with  the right mentality, just as they did in the first Test. They need to maintain the discipline  that helped them produce such an incredible performance. They batted with real discipline  in the first Test, and they will need to do that again. 

At the same time, Bangladesh cannot get too carried away by what they achieved. They  have to expect Australia to come back strongly. Australia are going to be determined to put  the first Test behind them and show what they are capable of.

The first Test victory was incredible. To beat Australia in those circumstances was an  extraordinary achievement for Bangladesh. Now they have the opportunity to follow it up in  the second Test, but they will need to approach the game with the same discipline and  mentality. 

For Australia, this is about responding. They have already shown that they can play at a  very high level, but their performance in the first Test was nowhere near that standard.  They now have the chance to regroup, find their best form and produce the kind of  performance expected from them. 

I think Australia will win the Test match and come back strongly. But they will have to play a  whole lot better than they did in the first Test.