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Ricky Ponting urges Australia to rebuild their batting after humiliating defeat against Bangladesh: ‘They have to…' Ricky Ponting called for Australia to regenerate their batting order after Bangladesh's historic nine-wicket win exposed familiar problems in Darwin. Prefer HTon Google Australia’s humiliating nine-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin has prompted former captain Ricky Ponting to call for changes to an ageing batting line-up, arguing there is now enough evidence for selectors to begin regenerating the Test side. Bangladesh completed a historic victory on Sunday after comprehensively outplaying Australia across four days. The hosts, who opted to bat first, were bundled out for just 198 as Hasan Mahmud claimed six wickets before Bangladesh piled on 426 to establish a massive 228-run first-innings advantage. Australia offered greater resistance in their second innings through Cameron Green’s 104, but another collective batting failure saw them dismissed for 284. Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed five wickets before Bangladesh comfortably knocked off the 57 runs required, losing only Tanzid Hasan Tamim, to register their first Test victory in Australia. For Ponting, the manner of the defeat only strengthened concerns he had already expressed about the direction of the Australian batting unit. “This ends up being a very embarrassing defeat. I think it’s inevitable they have to make a change. I was on the record at the end of last summer thinking that this was the ideal time to start to regenerate this team because of the performances from some of the players,” Ponting told Channel 7. Ponting says Australia have reached point of change Deep Dive Ask HT Ponting, who captained Australia during one of the most dominant periods in Test history, stressed that he has traditionally favoured stability rather than making changes at the first sign of trouble. However, the former skipper believes Australia have now reached the stage where keeping the batting group intact carries little benefit. “Look, I'm the last one I want to make change. As a captain or as a player, I wanted to keep the group together. It has to get to a bad point before I start saying you ought to leave somebody out,” Ponting said. “But there had been enough evidence for me coming here to suggest that they weren’t going to lose anything or much at all by starting that regeneration, by maybe bringing in another opener, by maybe bringing in someone at No.3. I think that that has to happen.” Australia’s batting had already been under scrutiny before Darwin, but the Bangladesh defeat dramatically intensified the debate. Despite fielding a strong side in familiar home conditions, Australia failed to control the Test at virtually any stage. Ponting highlighted the scale of Bangladesh’s superiority, noting that Australia had been beaten across disciplines and had failed to impose themselves even for sustained periods. The visitors’ victory was built not merely around Australia’s failures but around several outstanding individual performances. Hasan’s six-wicket haul dismantled the hosts in the first innings before Tanzid became the first Bangladesh batter to score a Test century in Australia with 101. Mehidy’s 65 then helped stretch the lead beyond 200 before his five-wicket haul finished Australia off on the fourth morning. The result now leaves Australia facing uncomfortable questions over whether the Darwin defeat should finally accelerate a transition Ponting believes has already been delayed too long. - ABOUT THE AUTHORProbuddha Bhattacharjee Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it. Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences. Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport. He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.Read More