The first-ever ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh will begin in Dhaka on Thursday
All you need to know: Bangladesh v Australia ODIs
ODI series facts
Schedule:
March 21: Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, 9.30am local (2.30pm AEDT)
March 24: Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, 9.30am local (2.30pm AEDT)
March 27: Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, 9.30am local (2.30pm AEDT)
How to watch or listen in Australia: The matches will be live streamed and can be watched on the Bangladesh Cricket Board YouTube channel or via the BCB Facebook page.
Live scores: Match Centre
News and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Scoop Podcast.
The squads
Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck
Bangladesh: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter (vc), Fargana Hoque, Murshida Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Disha Biswas, Sumaiya Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi, Farzana Akter, Rabeya Khan
Darcie Brown was a late scratching from Australia’s squad, ruled out after being diagnosed with a navicular stress injury in her left foot. The Aussies opted against replacing her with a like-for-like option, and will instead fly Grace Harris – who was initially only named in the T20 squad – in earlier for the ODIs.
After a wretched run with injuries Tayla Vlaeminck returns to the Australian squad as one of two inclusions alongside fellow Victorian Sophie Molineux.
Express quick Vlaeminck has recovered from shoulder surgery that followed back-to-back identical serious foot injuries, and is a chance to feature in an Australia XI for the first time since January 2022.
Molineux, who played her first international game in more than two years last month when she was included in Australia’s Test XI that played South Africa at the WACA Ground, is a chance to feature in her first ODI since September 2021.
But veteran allrounder Jess Jonassen's international career is at a crossroads after she was left out of the squad – the first time she has missed a tour due to selection rather than injury since her debut in 2012.
Uncapped wicketkeeper Farzana Akter has been called into Bangladesh's squad alongside fifteen-year-old Nishita Akter Nishi, who made her ODI debut against Pakistan last year.
Making way for Farzana is Shamima Sultana, while Lata Mondal and Shorifa Khatun are the other omissions from the squad that travelled to South Africa late last year.
Recent form
Australia recently wrapped up their multi-format home series against South Africa, which saw them take out the trophy with 12 points to the Proteas’ four.
The hosts won the ODI leg 2-1, but their defeat in the second game at North Sydney Oval was an historic one – they had never previously lost to South Africa in the format.
However they bounced back emphatically in the final one-dayer, winning by 110 runs (DLS).
Bangladesh’s last assignment was also against South Africa, when they travelled there to play three ODIs in December.
Bangladesh stunned the Proteas in the first 50-over game, winning by 119 runs, before the hosts recovered to claim the series 2-1.
The Tigers have also enjoyed success at home over the past year, tying a series against India 1-1 and defeating Pakistan 2-1.
The historic tour
Australia and Bangladesh have never previously met in a bilateral series in any format. But Bangladesh’s inclusion in the latest cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship has paved the way for this historic tour, which will also include three T20Is.
Last time they met
The last – and only – time Australia and Bangladesh have played one another in an ODI was during the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand.
It was Australia’s last round game before the finals, and on a stormy day in Wellington Bangladesh gave the eventual champions a run for their money.
Australia were reduced to 4-41 and then 5-70 in pursuit of just 136 to win before Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland steered their side home.
The last time they met in a T20I was during the group stage of the 2023 World Cup in South Africa. There, Georgia Wareham took three wickets to help restrict Bangladesh to 7-107, a target Australia chased in 18.2 overs thanks to Meg Lanning’s unbeaten 48.
Overall, the teams have played on just three occasions, with the third a group game in Canberra during the 2020 T20 World Cup.
The local conditions
All three ODIs will be played at Dhaka’s Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. This is the Aussie women’s first visit to Bangladesh, and the stadium, since they defeated England there in the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup.
Of the current 15-player squad, Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry are the only two remaining who played in 2014 tournament. Beth Mooney was also part of that squad, but did not play.
Kim Garth is the other player to have previously visited Bangladesh, having played there with Ireland in a World Cup Qualifying tournament in 2011.
The tour is doubling as a fact-finding mission for the Aussies, who will be aiming to win a fourth consecutive T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this September and October.
Head-to-head in ODIs
Overall: Australia: 1, Bangladesh: 0
The ICC ODI Championship
ICC Women's Championship points will be on offer in the three-match ODI series. Running every four years, the Championship determines which five teams, alongside hosts India, gain automatic qualification for the 2025 World Cup.
This is Australia's fifth round of the new edition of the Championship and having won both previous editions, they will be eager to secure all six points on offer.
The Aussies currently sit on top of the table, two points ahead of South Africa, having won 10 of 15 ODIs in this cycle. They lost two one-dayers to England during the Ashes and another to the Proteas last month, while they also had washouts against Ireland and West Indies.
Bangladesh sit seventh on the table and have also played five rounds so far, winning four of 15 matches against India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, alongside seven losses, one tie and four washouts.
CommBank Tour of Bangladesh
March 21: First ODI, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (2:30pm AEDT)
March 24: Second ODI, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (2:30pm AEDT)
March 27: Third ODI, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (2:30pm AEDT)
March 31: First T20I, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (5:00pm AEDT)
April 2: Second T20I, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (5:00pm AEDT)
April 4: Third T20I, Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka (5:00pm AEDT)
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck
Bangladesh squad: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter (vc), Fargana Hoque, Murshida Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Disha Biswas, Sumaiya Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi, Farzana Akter, Rabeya Khan