The Australian cricket team ended the 2005–06 season by touring Bangladesh in April 2006. The series was seen as an uneventful way to end the season as Australia, who were twenty points clear of second place in the ICC Test Championship, played a Bangladeshi team who had won one Test match in their cricketing history and were ranked at the bottom, over 100 points behind Australia. Bangladesh, however, wanted to refute comments made by the tourists' captain, Ricky Ponting who told London's "The Daily Telegraph" in February ""What I would not have is the minnow nations in the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and I would not have Bangladesh and Zimbabwe playing Tests at present." On arrival, Ponting pointed out, in support of the home side, that "maybe Bangladesh having Test status will take the game forward". On the back of a three-Test whitewash tour of South Africa, but a 3–2 loss in ODI matches (including the famous fifth ODI, in which Australia scored a world record of 4/434, only for South Africa to chase it down with a world record 9/438), Australia came to Bangladesh to play two Tests and three One-day International matches, without any warm-up touring matches.