Campbell Thompson. Remember the name. The 22-year-old returned with figures of 8/25 as Bangladesh folded up for 54 in the warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI to lose the contest by an innings and 38 runs on Saturday. This result comes as a major blow for the side ahead of the two-Test series against Australia, beginning August 13 in Darwin. The visitors endured a dramatic collapse in the morning session on Day 3, with left-arm seamer Campbell completing a remarkable haul to dismantle Bangladesh’s batting lineup.
Bangladesh resumed their second innings with two wickets already down and had little opportunity to recover. They survived for only 17 more overs and were dismissed before lunch, with opener Tanzid Hasan the only batter to reach double figures. He top-scored with 22.
Thompson continued the damage he had begun late on the previous evening. The 22-year-old South Australian claimed the first five wickets of the morning to put Bangladesh under relentless pressure.
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The youngster, who had just one first-class appearance before this match, eventually finished with figures of 8 for 25. He removed Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for a duck, trapping him lbw. He then wrapped up the innings by taking the final two wickets with successive deliveries.
The performance marks another impressive step in Thompson’s rapid rise. He represented the Prime Minister’s XI against England last season before making his List A and Sheffield Shield debuts for South Australia.
During his Shield debut, Thompson caught attention with a lively spell against Australia batter Usman Khawaja. His progress was subsequently interrupted by a hamstring injury, bringing his season to an early end.
“Sometimes you get lucky. It fell my way today, which was nice. It’s always a good experience and opportunity to come and play up against a Test side a few days out from a series. Then to play alongside experienced Aussie guys as well, like Kurtis Patterson and Corey Rocchiccioli and stuff like that. So, just involving myself around these guys has been awesome,” Cricinfo quoted Thompson as saying.
What does the result show to Bangladesh?
For Bangladesh, the defeat comes at an especially uncomfortable time. Their first Test against Australia is now only four days away, leaving the visitors with limited time to address their batting concerns before facing a formidable pace attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Bangladesh had shown greater resistance in their first innings, posting 263 after Mehidy Hasan Miraz rescued the lower order with a century from No. 7. However, their top order again struggled, while Hasan Mahmud provided the main highlight with the ball by taking 4 for 42.
The collapse in the second innings, however, overshadowed those positives and will leave Bangladesh searching for answers before their Test campaign begins.
The upcoming series will also hold historical significance for Bangladesh, which is returning to Australia for Test cricket for the first time in 23 years.