Australia has created an unwanted ODI record after registering four consecutive opening partnerships without scoring a run.
Their latest failure came in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka, where Matthew Short was bowled by Taskin Ahmed for a four-ball duck. The wicket left Australia at 0-1 and completed a rare sequence of opening stands reading 0, 0, 0 and 0 in their last four ODIs.
Australia is now the first full member team in ODI history to record four consecutive duck opening partnerships. The only other side to have suffered the same run is Papua New Guinea.
| Innings | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Papua New Guinea | 2022 |
| 4* | Australia | 2026 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 2015 |
The problem started in the second ODI against Pakistan in Lahore, when Alex Carey was bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi on the first ball of the innings. Australia recovered to post 231-9 and won the match by 41 runs, but the opening stand remained zero.
The same issue continued in the third ODI against Pakistan, also in Lahore. This time, Matthew Short was dismissed by Shaheen for a two-ball duck, leaving Australia 0-1 again. Australia was bowled out for 157, their lowest ODI total in Pakistan, as Pakistan won by four wickets and sealed the series 2-1.
Australia then carried the pattern into the Bangladesh series. In the first ODI in Dhaka, Short was bowled by Taskin Ahmed on the first ball of the chase. Bangladesh went on to beat Australia by 86 runs through the DLS method, recording only their second ODI win over Australia and their first against them in the format in 21 years.
The fourth duck opening stand came in the second ODI against Bangladesh, when Taskin again removed Short before Australia had scored. Things got worse quickly for the visitors, as Cooper Connolly and Matt Renshaw also fell without scoring, leaving Australia three wickets down with no runs on the board.
The repeated failures at the top have exposed Australia’s unsettled opening combination. The team is already without regular senior options, with Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head and Tanveer Sangha ruled out of the Bangladesh ODI series. Josh Inglis has been leading the side in Marsh’s absence.
Australia’s recent ODI form has also added pressure on the batting unit. They lost the Pakistan series 2-1 before starting the Bangladesh series with a heavy defeat in Dhaka.
For a team with one of the strongest records in ODI cricket, four straight scoreless opening stands mark a rare and embarrassing low.