Matthew Short’s three straight ducks matter more than Australia’s series defeat to Bangladesh because they expose exactly the kind of technical flaw selectors can’t fix with a single change of personnel. He was bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi in Lahore, then bowled twice more by Taskin Ahmed in Dhaka, each dismissal coming from a ball that moved into his stumps. With Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh both missing the series through leave and injury, Short had the opening role to himself and lost it inside a week.
Matthew Short Ducks Australia Bangladesh ODI Series
Bangladesh’s 2-1 series win in June 2026 was their first ever over Australia in ODIs, a genuine landmark for the program, and it came via two rain-affected results in the first two matches. Inside that result, though, sits a much narrower story about one player’s bat going completely silent at the top of the order, across two different countries and against two different attacks, in the space of just over a week.
Short’s streak started in Lahore on June 4, when Shaheen Shah Afridi removed him on the first ball in the third and deciding ODI against Pakistan, a match Australia lost by four wickets to drop that series 2-1. He carried the opener’s role straight into Dhaka, still searching for a way to break the run.
Three Ducks Across Two Series
In the first Bangladesh ODI on June 9, Taskin Ahmed bowled Short for nothing again as the hosts won by 86 runs via DLS. Two days later, in the second ODI, Taskin got him a second time, this time shouldering arms to an in-swinger that came back sharply and took out his stumps. Three consecutive ducks, two different series, two different bowling attacks.
That second Dhaka dismissal fed directly into one of the rarer collapses in the format. Australia lost three batters without scoring a run inside the first two overs, only the fourth time that’s happened anywhere in ODI history, a list most teams never come close to joining even across decades of matches.
Match | Opponent | Bowler | Delivery | Short’s Score |
PAK vs AUS, 3rd ODI (Jun 4) | Pakistan | Shaheen Shah Afridi | Bowled, first ball | 0 |
BAN vs AUS, 1st ODI (Jun 9) | Bangladesh | Taskin Ahmed | Bowled | 0 |
BAN vs AUS, 2nd ODI (Jun 11) | Bangladesh | Taskin Ahmed | Bowled, shouldered arms to an in-swinger | 0 |
Short’s Technical Vulnerability Exposed
The pattern across all three dismissals is consistent. Shaheen got him with swing in Lahore, while Taskin attacked the stumps twice in as many games in Dhaka before Short had time to settle. The first Dhaka duck came off a delivery that jagged back into off stump; the second was a leave that should have been a defensive shot, against a ball doing almost exactly the same thing.
Getting bowled or beaten by balls moving back into the stumps three times running points to a specific technical gap against quality new-ball bowling in conditions that assist movement, not simple bad luck. Short’s ODI average sits at roughly 25 from 18 matches, and three ducks against different bowlers in different countries, on different surfaces, is a heavier signal than one bad series alone would be.
Selectors’ Next Move
Short was left out of the XI for the third ODI on June 14, with Cooper Connolly promoted to open instead. Connolly responded with 149 and helped Australia grind out a one-wicket consolation win, the kind of innings that immediately changes the conversation around the opening slot.
Selectors had already shown patience once, keeping Short in the squad after his Pakistan duck when the Bangladesh tour was named, a decision that looked reasonable at the time, given how thin Australia’s opening options already were. That patience is gone now. He had a real opportunity to claim the opening role for good with the 2027 World Cup cycle approaching, and three ducks in a row across two countries is not how anyone takes that chance.
Australia’s Opening Crisis
Short’s collapse only highlights a problem that already existed well before this series. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s first-choice opening pair, have both missed multiple series through personal leave and workload management, which is exactly why a stop-gap option like Short was opening in the first place.
Selectors want settled combinations heading into the World Cup, and the Matthew Short ducks Australia Bangladesh ODI series story has only made that harder, even if Connolly’s century in the third ODI at least gives them a credible alternative to build around.
Should Cooper Connolly keep the opener’s spot now, or does Short deserve one more chance to put it right? Tell us what you think.
FAQs
How many ducks has Matthew Short had in a row?
Three, across two different series. He was out for nothing in the Pakistan third ODI in Lahore, then again in both the first and second ODIs against Bangladesh.
Will Matthew Short be dropped from Australia’s ODI side?
He was already dropped for the third Bangladesh ODI. His longer-term spot depends on Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh’s availability and whether he can rebuild form domestically.
What is Matthew Short’s ODI batting average?
It sits at roughly 25. That comes from 18 ODI matches and 392 runs.
Who replaces Matthew Short as Australia’s opener?
Cooper Connolly is the leading candidate. He scored a maiden ODI century of 149 while opening in the third match against Bangladesh.
Why did Australia lose the ODI series to Bangladesh?
Early top-order collapses put constant pressure on the middle order. Short’s three successive ducks were central to that, and Bangladesh capitalized in two rain-affected wins.