Wish you were here, Hookesy
"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."
That was David Hookes’ grand vision for Australia’s first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin back in 2003. Instead of a Test match against world cricket’s newest side, the former Australia batsman turned commentator saw a glorified warm-up that ought to be settled in time for early drinks.
He famously insisted that Bangladesh didn't belong in Test cricket, urging Waugh’s all-conquering side to offer no favours and simply "annihilate" the tourists.
Twenty-three years later, the ghosts of Marrara Stadium have finally cleared their throats.
In the very same Darwin venue, Bangladesh have just defeated a full-strength Australia by nine wickets, wrapping up the match in around three-and-a-half days and with over four sessions of unused cricket left on the table.
For fans who have ridden the emotional rollercoaster of Bangladesh cricket for three decades, finding the right word for this historic triumph isn't easy. Annihilation, though, feels delightfully appropriate.
Back in 2003, Waugh’s men did indeed win comfortably in Darwin, followed by a similarly emphatic victory in Cairns. Yet, much to Hookes’ vocal chagrin, a stubborn, fledgling Bangladesh side dragged both matches into a third day, refusing to adhere to his single-day demolition fantasy.
Sadly, Hookes never got to see how this story developed. He died at 48 following a fatal altercation outside a Melbourne hotel bar in 2004, just months after that series. But while Hookes rested, his bold provocation sat patiently in the archives for over two decades, waiting for history to deliver a reply.
And what a reply it was. Bangladesh arrived in Darwin this week missing two of their premier fast bowlers, Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam. On paper, the old hierarchy was perfectly intact. The scoreboard, however, had other ideas -- dispatching Australia with the very efficiency Hookes had once demanded of his countrymen.
It is the most delicious piece of cricketing symmetry imaginable. Perhaps Hookes would have reached for another brash prediction, or perhaps he would have tipped his cap with a wry grin to acknowledge the spectacular reversal.
Either way, it would have been wonderful to have him around to witness it.
Wish you were here, mate.
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