Darren Lehmann backs Ashton Agar to make a return in the 1st Test

The Australian team is set to play two spinners going into the 1st Test match against Bangladesh, and therefore Ashton Agar is the likely candidate to get a look in. It’s been four years since Agar last represented Australia. If coach Darren Lehmann is to be believed then the 23-year-old won’t have to wait for too long.

Agar impressed the selectors with his domestic heroics and got an edge over Steve O’Keefe. Coach Lehmann also said that Agar’s fielding is a plus point. He termed Agar as a ‘gun fielder’, Lehmann also added that he was very pleased with the youngster’s performance. The coach expects Agar to reproduce the same sort of form in international cricket.

Australia are wary of the fact that Bangladesh defeated England at the same venue inside three days and therefore the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium can throw up any possible challenge. The last time Australia toured Bangladesh was back in 2006 and this series has been in the pipeline for a long time now. A scheduled tour in October 2015 was cancelled amid security fears after attacks by militants in Dhaka. Cricket Australia agreed to reschedule the series this year only after Bangladesh promised stepped-up security.

Practice game called off

The visitors were due to play a two-day match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in Fatullah on Tuesday and the day after, but following an inspection on Monday, the venue was announced unplayable after contaminated water flooded the ground in recent weeks.

The Aussie coach was disappointed at not being able to see the boys take a feel of the place by playing a practice game.”The Bangladesh Cricket Board have been fantastic in trying to get us a game, and obviously the amount of rain they’ve had, that can’t be helped,” Lehmann said on Monday. This will be a great opportunity for the underdogs to take their game to the next level.