One hundred and four. Two hundred and twelve. One hundred and thirty-two and now 198.
These are the last four first-innings totals Australia have posted after batting on the first day of a Test series coming off a lengthy lay-off.
In November 2024, it was India's Jasprit Bumrah who reduced them to 67 for 7 on the opening day in Perth. In June 2025, it was South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen who rolled them over for 212 at Lord's. Last November, it was England's Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Ben Stokes who had them 123 for 9 at close on a 19-wicket day.
In Darwin on Thursday, it was Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud, who took 6 for 55 alongside disciplined two-wicket contributions from Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain, as Australia were bowled out for 198 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
That decision was curious at the time given the live green grass on the drop-in surface, the unknowns from the curator about how it would play, and the unseasonal high humidity and cloud cover combined with an early 10am start. It looked worse when Australia were bowled out in a little over two sessions.
However, unlike the two calamities in Perth where 17 and 19 wickets fell on the opening day respectively, Bangladesh's batters proved that the surface was pleasant to bat on in the afternoon as they cruised to 96 for 1 at stumps.
There were two huge questions posed of Australia's team ahead of this first Test, which was the first of a 20, possibly 21-Test odyssey over the next 12 months. The first was whether Australia's batting could de-couple it's reliance on Steven Smith and Travis Head and score more heavily as a whole. The second was whether Australia's aging attack could continue to rescue them.
They failed on both counts on day one against an opposition many expected them to sweep aside ahead of bigger challenges to come.
The batting collapse was familiar. Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green were under the most pressure entering the series, and all three were out before lunch. Head's counter-attacking skills that have so often thrived at No. 5 and then feasted when on more benign second-, third- and fourth-day pitches when opening in the Ashes, were neutered by a fresh, tacky, nipping first-morning surface in Darwin and some outstanding plans and discipline from Bangladesh's seamers who held their nerve, line and lengths in a manner England could not last summer.
Coach Andrew McDonald had revealed in the lead-up to the series that Australia were measuring batting contributions by percentage of runs to provide context around the difficulty of the pitches they are batting on. Smith provided 36% of his team's total with 71 out of 198.
But even he had an extraordinary amount of luck. He nicked four of his first 40 balls. One was dropped by Tanzid Hasan at third slip. Another fell short. Two more flew through a vacant third to the rope as he struggled for early fluency. He admitted he thought he had nicked a fifth but DRS did not show a spike when Bangladesh reviewed a caught behind appeal that was given not out, with Smith walking a third of the way off before the TV umpire adjudicated in his favour.
"I've said for a while that batting at the top of the order in Australia at the moment is as tough as I've seen in my career by a mile," Smith said after play. "The ball's seaming significantly. It's extremely tricky, and you need some luck, definitely as a top order batter. The guys got off to a decent start today, Jake and Heady, and then we obviously lost a few in clumps there."
That statement should carry weight given Smith's career record. But ultimately like Bill Murray's character Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, something has to change in order to thrive in the similar conditions that keep getting presented.
Weatherald made yet another start but failed to go on. His 23 was his eighth double-digit score in 11 Test innings but only once has he passed 34. His technical tinkering was noticeable on Thursday. He was standing slightly taller to get his head back in line with off stump, and his trigger movement back towards leg was consistent in keeping him legside of the ball to avoid getting pinned lbw, as he was four times in the Ashes. But the cost of those changes is that he is not as well-positioned to unfurl his weaponous cover drive. He flashed and missed several times before eventually nicking Hasan on the up. It was the first time he had nicked off in Test cricket.
Labuschagne is arguably the biggest concern Australia has. He is deep in the Groundhog Day cycle. Just as he did before he was dropped in 2025, he went completely into his shell to produce one scoring shot in 19 deliveries before nicking off from a familiar squared up position on the crease.
Green too fell in familiar fashion. His skipper had urged him to play with freedom and show intent on match eve. He raced to 13 from 12 before lunch, which included a pull shot for six that was not controlled. But like in Adelaide last summer, he meekly chipped a ball to midwicket with hard hands on the stroke of lunch to gift a megaphone to the growing list of doubters.
At some point, the preparation of Australia's batters has to be called into question in regard to their first day failings.
"I don't know, it's a difficult one to say," Smith said. "It can take people a little bit of time to get into their work. But I mean, there's no excuses. We've prepared really well. We've had a load of training in Brisbane with match simulation stuff. We've trained here. We've done plenty, no excuses there. That's for sure."
Labuschagne, Weatherald and Green all made half-centuries in the match-simulation in Brisbane last week against the same four Australian bowlers who removed only one of Bangladesh's top three for 96 runs in 24 overs in the last session. It might have been two, or even more, had Nathan Lyon not grassed a skied offering from Tanzid in the second over from Josh Hazlewood.
Australia have plenty of time to get back into the match as they did when they trailed on day one in Perth last year. However, they do not have time to fight back in the series should they not escape this hole, as they did in Perth in 2024, given this is only a two-Test affair.
They won't panic. They never do. But it's Groundhog Day, again.