'It should've been us': Former England stars rue Ashes defeat after Bangladesh batter Australia in 1st Test at Darwin

'It should've been us': Former England stars rue Ashes defeat after Bangladesh batter Australia in 1st Test at Darwin originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Former England stars Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell lamented not being the side that beat Australia in their own backyard.

England lost the last Ashes 4-1 with just one victory in the Land Down Under in the last 15 years.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh beat the Aussies by 9 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

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Former England stars rue Ashes defeat after Bangladesh batter Australia in 1st Test at Darwin

What Bangladesh did over the four days of the 1st Test at Darwin is something not many teams can claim they have done. Beating Australia in their own backyard. But what made the win so special was that the Bangla Tigers had last been to the Land Down Under in 2003.

After a gap of 23 years, they didn't just beat the former World Test Champions, but demolished them, winning by 9 wickets. And while this victory made fans rejoice everywhere, there was one group in the cricketing community that wasn't happy with this win.

England, who now have won the same number of Test matches in Australia as Bangladesh, couldn't help but lament the missed opportunity they had in the Ashes earlier this year. Not only did the Aussies retain the Urn, but they absolutely demolished the Three Lions 4-1. And in one of the latest episodes of the Stick to Cricket podcast, a group of former stars didn't exactly hide that.

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Michael Vaughan praises Bangladesh's mentality while Phil Tufnell laments Ashes loss

For two men who have been part of multiple Ashes themselves Phil Tufnell and Michael Vaughan couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the Tigers' victory. Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast he mentioned (from 46:43), "It's been a tremendous week for Bangladesh. Their greatest ever test victory."

The former English batter who has immortalized himself for winning the 2005 Ashes, didn't let his English pride get in the way of praising Bangladesh for doing something special. Tuffnell even called the victory, "I reckon one of the biggest upsets ever."

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For a side that were bowled out for just 54 in a practice match, his word's aren't an understatement.

Vaughan also brought the fact that reputed Australian journalist Robert Craddock, who has been covering the Aussie cricket for decades even called the match their worst Test loss. But while he felt rueful, Vaughan also couldn't help but get some satisfaction from the whole thing.

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"One thing that kind of again makes me smile is because Bangladesh arrived, they prepared okay. They haven't got speed, they haven't got rapid bowlers," Vaughan told his fellow stars. The former skipper was quick to point our the obvious lack of fast bowling with the guests.

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But he admitted that the medium-pace bowlers Bangladesh brought did their job. He also praised their batters who just struck in and held their wickets. Long-time broadcaster and former all-rounder David "Bumble" Vaughan remained in disbelief. He quickly asked Vaughan, "It was Darwin wasn't it?"

To this Vaughan quickly replied, "Darwin, yeah. They've kind of just played a very basic game and batted. Oh and that was Australia's first team." It was at this point that Tufnell dropped his real feelings. "I know and it should've been us. That's why we came back from there all annoyed because we thought that should've been us."

It is no surprise that the man who played five Ashes series between 1990 and 2001 without winning a single one wants nothing more but for the side to win the match. But Tufnell was also quick to admit the good things about the Bangladesh side.

"It just shows, doesn't it," he said. "If you arrive with a group of players willing to do the basics well who you play against if you deliver the basics really well with bat with the ball." Former English skipper and Alistair Cook meanwhile kept it real as he said, "Its good for cricket." But while the English fans are rued, Aussies aren't done.

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The job isn't yet done for Bangladesh

The second Test match will take the Bangla Tigers is set to be held at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, Australia. For a side as prideful, it would be hard to count them out. Josh Hazlewood already proved that he can snap some quick wickets when the pressure is high as he scalped six in the first innings.

The batting however is the problem that the Aussies would need to correct. Minus a lonesome century by Cameron Green in the second innings and Steven Smith's graceful knock in the first, the hosts looked out of their depth in front of the Bangladeshi bowling attack spearheaded by Hassan Mahmud who took nine wickets in total.

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While the English jealousy is noticeable, past series in Down Under have shown that you can never count the Aussies out till the last ball has been bowled.

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