Marnus Labuschagne made 1 and 31 against Bangladesh. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
You could pick a handful of moments during the first Test at Marrara Oval in Darwin where it was clear not everything was as it seemed on surface level.
On day two, Marnus Labuschagne sprinted off with his usual exuberance from the infield to chase down a shot that trickled towards the boundary.
The immaculately manicured outfield, offering a playing surface that was nigh on pristine, had already been praised for its lawn-like quality.
Mark Waugh on Fox Sports noted you could probably play bowls or tennis on it.
Yet as soon as Labuschagne slid for the ball, the ugly truth was revealed, as a huge clump of turf was ripped up in a heaped mass of mud and grass and injury potential.
This was a pattern repeated throughout the match: The outfield's undoubted beauty was only surface deep.
Australia's standing at the top of the Test match rankings may only be surface deep, as deep fissures have been revealed in Darwin. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
An analogy to what transpired over the next four days, as the number nine-ranked Test team that were missing two of their best bowlers, thumped the world number one side at full strength on their own turf, could not have been clearer.
Bangladesh's stunning victory in Darwin has delivered Australian cricket the shock that it undoubtedly needed.
A team that arrived without fanfare or pedigree has slapped down the world's number one Test playing nation by playing simple, sensible Test cricket.
The bowling was slow but accurate. The batting, unspectacular but patient and disciplined.
As the growth of the big three has accelerated inequalities between the haves and have-nots of Test cricket, Bangladesh are one of those teams that have been left firmly on the outer, yet proved in Darwin that the paucity of opportunities that have come their way has in no way blunted their potency or hunger for success within the format.
They were here to play Test cricket and play it well.
Najmul Hossain Shanto led his team with skill and composure throughout. (Getty Images: Cricket Australia/Albert Perez)
