Melbourne, Oct 2 - Test skipper Steve Smith said he was disappointed because Australia's abandoned tour of Bangladesh would have been a good opportunity to test their skills in conditions they haven't done well in as a team.
Cricket Australia took the decision to cancel the two-Test tour after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned that Australian interests could be threatened in Bangladesh, news.com.au reported on Thursday.
The tour to Bangladesh would have been Smith's first as captain and it was also an opportunity for several players to force their way into a new-look team. Most importantly, it would have given the team some much needed exposure to subcontinental conditions.
"It would have been a great opportunity for all these guys to come together and play some cricket in subcontinental conditions, where we haven't done so well," Smith said.
"It would have been a great opportunity for all of us to try and improve our skills over there, which would have been a great challenge for us," he said.
The cancellation of the Bangladesh tour also leaves Australia with little exposure to the longer version of the game before New Zealand arrive for the summer. It would have also been Smith's first experience of leading the team in a Test series as a full time captain.
"It was my first Test series as full time captain, it was a new team with some new players and we were all really looking forward to getting over there and playing. It's extremely disappointing," Smith said.
It means Australia's Test stars have returned to their states to take part in the domestic tournament beginning on Monday and no side will benefit more than New South Wales, who have 13 players with international experience.
"We've got a really strong squad and I'm really excited about playing in this Matador Cup now," Smith said.
"It's going to be a good tournament with all the Australian players playing and that’s the only positive we can take out of this postponed tour. It's going to be an extremely competitive competition," he added.
(IANS)