When Bangladesh captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto walks out alongside Australia’s Pat Cummins for the toss in Darwin on Saturday, conversations around the opener will centre on pitch conditions, team combinations, and the tactical nuances of the Test. Twenty-three years ago, however, the Bangladesh team arrived in Australia under a cloud of intense skepticism and public derision.
Ahead of the 2003 series, former Australia batter David Hookes wrote a scathing column in the Sydney Morning Herald that remains etched in the memory of then-captain Khaled Mahmud. In his July 12, 2003, piece titled “Now for a one-day Test,” Hookes urged Australia’s world champions to humiliate the visitors. He famously suggested that Steve Waugh’s side should aim to finish both Tests inside a single day.
“Steve Waugh should send them in to bat, bowl them out before lunch, bat until tea and declare, then send them back in and roll them again before stumps,” Hookes wrote. He added that it could all be over in a day, claiming, “Bangladesh doesn’t deserve to be in Test cricket and they shouldn’t be given any favours out on the field. If the Australian team is being true to the Test cap, their aim will be to go out there and annihilate Bangladesh.”
These harsh comments became a major talking point when the two teams met at a pre-series gathering in Darwin. What followed, however, left a far deeper impression on Mahmud than the criticism itself. While the team was standing on a balcony during evening tea, Steve Waugh approached Mahmud directly to check on his well-being.
“Later he asked, ‘Do you guys read the newspapers?’ I said, ‘Not usually, but sometimes.’ He asked, ‘Did you read David Hookes’ comment?’ I said, ‘Yes, we did.’ He told us, ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s just a mad man talking and I believe you are a much better team than that and you’ll play well against us. I wish you all the best,'” Mahmud recalled.
Mahmud noted that such a gesture from the opposing captain provided a significant confidence boost. He had arrived expecting the Australians to be relentless with their sledging, but instead, he encountered a side that was uncompromising in its cricket but respectful in its conduct. “We heard the Australians sledge a lot but we didn’t see any of it on the field. Steve Waugh’s team didn’t go anywhere near sledging,” he said.
Even against a weak and inexperienced team like Bangladesh, the Australian approach and application remained 100% professional. They did not bowl any loose deliveries—no full tosses, half volleys, over-pitched balls, or short-of-length deliveries. “They played like they always do. Very nice approach and professional. They bowled with a plan and by using their brain. Leg-spinner Stuart MacGill bowled three of his customary deliveries before dishing out a googly, and we were totally unfamiliar with it,” Mahmud explained.
Stuart MacGill finished as the player of the series with 17 wickets as Australia swept the two-Test series. However, the lessons extended beyond the field. Mahmud vividly remembers Waugh inviting the entire Bangladesh squad to the Australian dressing room after the match. “Steve Waugh said, ‘Khaled, after the game you and your team come to our dressing room.’ I said in reply, ‘Okay, I am telling this to my team,’ and I called the entire team over,” Mahmud said.
The Australians provided a warm welcome to the touring party. “At one stage, all of us visited the Australian dressing room. The Australians literally welcomed us, even though Steve Waugh was talking at that time in the press meet. The Aussie cricketers gave us a warm welcome. When we were talking with Gilchrist, all of them were very helpful,” he added.
Reflecting on the evolution of the game, Mahmud noted that Bangladesh has since achieved significant milestones, including a famous victory over Australia in Dhaka in 2017 and memorable overseas Test wins in places like New Zealand. “I think during our visit to Australia they were 100 and we were 10, but now times have changed and we can surely compete with them,” he said.
Despite the growth of the team, Mahmud believes the most important takeaway from the 2003 experience is the need to embrace the occasion. He remains grateful for the professional conduct shown by Waugh and his team during a period when the Bangladesh side was still finding its footing in the international arena.
He said to me, ‘Where are the other members of your team?’ I looked behind and noticed none were there.
Then Ashraful and I made our way to the team bus,” he said.
I said, ‘Latif bhai, a full-strength Test team is playing.
Everyone had already boarded the team bus.
“Upon entering the bus we saw manager Latif bhai (Latifur Rahman, team manager) sitting down.
He shouted at both Ashraful and myself, ‘What’s the matter, why are you both late?
The cricketers of the two teams would talk amongst each other.
We will get to hear stories of different games from them.
Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, McGrath and MacGill, we will share our experiences with them.
And yet here you are calling us hurriedly,'” he said.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to talk for one and a half or two hours with legendary cricketers of team Australia, and we lost this opportunity.
Actually since he (Latif) was a non-cricketing personality, he couldn’t comprehend what I had said.
I said to him (Latif), ‘A great cricketer like Steve Waugh wanted to talk with us, called us to their dressing room to exchange views and share experiences, without understanding you are shouting at us for being late for the team hotel.
We exchanged our caps, took pictures, Justin Langer posed for a photograph wearing our red-green cap of Bangladesh.
