“To me, he looks like a mini-Glenn McGrath.”
Alan Wilkins spotted something in Hasan Mahmud in 2023 that was difficult to put into numbers. Bangladesh were playing Ireland, and Mahmud was still waiting for his Test opportunity. Yet there was something about the young fast bowler that caught Wilkins’ eye.
Perhaps it was his uncomplicated action. Perhaps it was the way he kept returning to the same areas, refusing to give the batter an easy escape. Or perhaps it was simply the sense that Mahmud did not need to make much noise to make an impression.
McGrath had built a career on precisely that.
Mahmud was only beginning to find his way then. But Wilkins’ words proved remarkably prescient as the pacer gradually developed from an intriguing young quick into one of Bangladesh’s most reliable fast-bowling options.
And now, in Darwin, that old comparison feels a little less fanciful, with Hasan running riot through Australia’s batting to claim a six-wicket haul.
Bangladesh arrived for their first Test in Australia in 23 years, knowing they would have to produce something special to trouble the hosts. They were also without Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam, two important members of their pace attack.
What followed was hardly the script Australia would have expected. Mahmud rattled Australia with figures of 17-3-55-6 to put Bangladesh in a commanding position at the close of play on Day 1.
Mahmud was at the centre of it all, bowling with the same control Wilkins had noticed three years earlier, but now backed by greater experience.
The mini-McGrath had grown up. And he had become a rather difficult man to deal with.
THE MINI-MCGRATH WHO PREFERS TO LET THE BALL TALK
There is something almost contradictory about Mahmud. He is a fast bowler in a sport where aggression is often worn proudly, yet he has never seemed particularly interested in making a show of his success.
He once offered a wonderfully simple explanation for why he does not celebrate his wickets.
“I don’t celebrate as the batsman will feel bad,” Mahmud had told the reporters back in 2023 after he his 5-wicket haul against Ireland as per DailyCricket.bd.
It is an unusual thought for a fast bowler, but it says plenty about his character. Mahmud has generally preferred to get on with the job rather than make himself the story.
His performances, however, have increasingly made that impossible.
His Test breakthrough came against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2024, when he took 5 for 43 to help Bangladesh secure a historic series victory. Soon afterwards, he produced another landmark performance against India in Chennai, claiming 5 for 83.
That made him the first Bangladesh bowler to take a Test five-wicket haul in India.
The wickets mattered, but so did the opposition. Mahmud was showing that he could trouble high-quality batting line-ups away from home.
SHAKIB SAW THE QUALITY BEFORE DARWIN
Shakib Al Hasan has also been convinced by Mahmud’s ability.
“According to me, Hasan Mahmud is perfect. Amongst our Test bowlers, he’s amongst the very best,” Shakib recently said on the Simply Sayeed podcast.
It was a strong endorsement of a bowler who had spent much of his early career trying to establish himself in Bangladesh’s evolving pace attack.
Mahmud made his Test debut in 2024, but regular opportunities were never guaranteed. What has stood out is Mahmud’s ability to adapt his strengths to different conditions.
Against Pakistan, he found movement. Against India, he maintained pressure against some of the world’s best batters. In Australia, he faced another challenge: unfamiliar surroundings, a formidable batting line-up and the expectation that Bangladesh would struggle.
Instead, he produced his most emphatic Test performance yet.
HOW COUNTY CRICKET HELPED HASAN
There was an important stop in Mahmud’s development between those performances.
County cricket.
Mahmud joined Kent in 2026 and immediately found himself in an environment where fast bowlers are expected to work for their rewards.
He responded impressively.
On his County Championship debut against Lancashire, Mahmud took 3 for 32 in the first innings before returning 6 for 69 in the second. His match figures of 9 for 101 helped Kent to a 140-run victory.
The figures were impressive, but the bigger benefit was the workload.
County cricket required Mahmud to stay involved even when wickets were not arriving. He had to maintain his discipline over extended spells, make batters play and understand when to attack and when to wait.
He also gained experience of bowling with the Dukes ball and operating on English surfaces, adding another set of conditions to his growing red-ball experience.
Darwin showed how useful that experience could be.
HASAN EARNS AUSTRALIA’S RESPECT
Bangladesh had plenty working against them before the Test began.
Losing two frontline quicks in Nahid and Shoriful could easily have exposed a weakness against Australia. Instead, it revealed another strength.
Mahmud led the attack, with Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain providing support. Together, they bowled Australia out for 198.
Steve Smith’s 71 was the main resistance, but Mahmud repeatedly broke through whenever Australia threatened to build a partnership. His career-best spell was the defining performance of the innings.
The response from the Australians was telling.
“During the match, Travis Head said I was bowling very well. Nathan Lyon asked me, ‘How many five-wicket hauls have you taken?’ They asked me a few things like that during the match,” Mahmud said at the press conference after the day’s play.
Head had been one of his victims. Lyon would eventually become another.
For Mahmud, praise from the opposition was perhaps the clearest acknowledgement of the quality of his spell. He had earned the respect of the batters he had spent the day trying to dismiss.
BANGLADESH’S PACE CUPBOARD IS NO LONGER BARE
Mahmud’s performance also pointed out a wider change in Bangladesh cricket.
For years, their Test attack was heavily dependent on spin, while injuries to one or two fast bowlers could leave the seam department short of options.
That picture is beginning to change.
Taskin has become an experienced leader of the attack. Shoriful remains an important option. Nahid Rana offers genuine pace when fit. Ebadot has returned to the Test setup. Mahmud has now established himself as a bowler capable of delivering against top sides in unfamiliar conditions.
Harsha Bhogle noticed the significance of what happened in Darwin.
“Remember seeing Hasan Mahmud in India and being hugely impressed. Bangladesh without Nahid Rana, and showing their depth, have done wonderfully well,” he wrote.
That depth made Bangladesh’s performance against Australia even more impressive. Mahmud was at the heart of it.
Throughout his short career, the pacer has remained remarkably understated. He does not need a dramatic celebration to make his presence felt.
His bowling is doing that for him.
The mini-McGrath has quietly grown into a tough nut, and in Darwin, Australia discovered just how hard he can be to crack.
– Ends
