Smith aware of Tigers' threat

The last time Australia toured Bangladesh for a Test series some 11 years ago, current captain Steven Smith was an 18-year-old youngster trying to pave his way in world cricket who had not even featured for New South Wales.

Things have changed a lot since 2006 -- when Bangladesh, despite giving the Aussies a scare in the first Test in Fatullah, and Australia had a huge gulf in terms of strength. Another interesting fact is that these two sides have only played four Tests so far, but the current batch of players have never faced each other in the game's most prestigious format.

However, Smith still has an idea of the threat that the new-look Bangladesh side pose in Test cricket as evidenced by their success against England at home last year followed by a win over Sri Lanka in their own den in the Tigers' landmark 100th Test.

The number one Test batsman in the world is anticipating a challenging series for his side, but he added that his team would reap the rewards when it comes to conditions in the subcontinent from their recent tour of India.

"It will be a challenging series. Bangladesh have played some brilliant cricket here. They beat England in a Test match here not too long ago. We are seeing it as a bit of a challenge. Hopefully we can come with the thing we learned from India and bring that into the game here," the 28-year-old told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

"I am a little bit surprised that we played just four Tests in the last 17 years. But I don't do the scheduling. I am told where to play. I guess the question is more for the administrators than it is for me," Smith continued.

The right-hander added that he expected the pitch and conditions would mainly help the spinners.

"Conditions are always foreign to us when we are in the sub-continent. The wickets are not what we get at home. I hope we can learn from the last Test series in India. I expect we will come up to some pretty similar wickets, similar amount of spin. Hopefully we can learn from what we did there [in India].

"Spin will play a big part throughout this series. Reverse swing will be expected, because the wicket will be abrasive," he said.

Australia have managed to win only twice in the subcontinent in the last 10 years in the longest format of the game and Smith said that it was one of the areas that he will be looking to improve upon.

Smith also praised the amount of security they have received so far since their arrival in Bangladesh.