Nathan Lyon's selection debate grows as Australia consider pace-heavy attacks

Nathan Lyon‘s place in Australia‘s side will likely become a more regular debate even in red-ball matches if conditions indicate pace bowlers will dominate.

There was a brief moment before the second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay where Lyon’s spot appeared under threat when Pat Cummins said Australia were weighing up bringing Scott Boland into an all-pace attack.

However, Cummins had yet to have a final look at the pitch when he made those comments and after the two-day finish said it took “five minutes” to decide that they needed Lyon in the side.

Lyon was not used in the first innings when Bangladesh were skittled for 64 but claimed 3 for 25 on the second day, including the final two wickets in the space of three balls. It followed a handy contribution of 32 not out with the bat as the final two wickets stretched Australia’s lead to 146.

“It does seem like a lot of Test matches are accelerated,” Cummins said. “But we know how valuable Nath is and we think he is fit enough to play as many as he needs to. Before the presser the other day, I hadn’t really had a good look [at the pitch]. We did five minutes of looking and thought we probably did need him out there. With Scotty Boland’s class, you always assess every option.”

The series marked Lyon’s return to action after his series-ending hamstring injury during the third Ashes Test last December. He finished with match figures of 1 for 125 in Darwin as the Bangladesh batters played him superbly, for a long time scoring at more than a run an over against him.

In Mackay, albeit in a very different match situation, he kept the batters tied down and did not concede a boundary until the last ball of his fifth over when Najmul Hossain Shanto reverse-swept over the slips. Lyon soon opened his account when he lured Shanto into an absent-minded drive straight to Mitchell Starc at long-off.

“[There was] actually a bit of spin and bounce in this wicket,” Alex Carey said. “I guess the quicks were getting the job done and we probably saw less overs from Nathan this Test match, on probably a wicket that suited a little bit as well with that bounce and spin. Nathan’s a high-class bowler, has been for a number of years.”

“You could easily say Nathan can play every Test match, [if] it just lines up well. But I think for the selectors to be really flexible on different surfaces is great options for us”

Alex Carey

It is expected that conditions in South Africa during the Test series in October will favour the quicks, so the consideration will likely be given to playing the extra quick bowler although the presence of Cameron Green and Beau Webster in the current XI means there is no shortage of pace options.

Boland’s opportunity may also come through rotation – although if Tests are completed quickly, workload will be less of a factor – or, as with last season’s Ashes, if injury occurs.

“I think what we have seen as well is that any bowling attack that we do go in with, we normally do a pretty good job,” Carey said. “The make-up’s been changed around a little bit the last couple of years. We’ve seen four quicks at times, we’ve got allrounders, we’ve got some part-time spin and obviously Nathan has taken however many Test wickets. I guess we’re really flexible with conditions, which is great.

“You could easily say Nathan can play every Test match, [if] it just lines up well. But I think for the selectors to be really flexible on different surfaces is great options for us.”

Whatever role Lyon ends up playing in South Africa and the home series against New Zealand, he will be a lock in the side when the team faces India in the five-match Border-Gavaskar series during January and February.

The consideration for the selectors there will be who joins him in the spin attack. Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann both made their debuts during the 2023 series in India, while Western Australia offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli is also in the mix and took eight wickets in the match for the Cricket Australia XI against Bangladesh earlier this month.

Both Murphy and Kuhnemann (along with allrounder Cooper Connolly who bowls left-arm spin) trained with the Test squad in Brisbane ahead of the Bangladesh series. Murphy is the one most recently part of the Test set-up when he was called up against England last season following Lyon’s injury but could not make the XI in Melbourne or, more controversially, Sydney where the ball did end up turning.

All three of Murphy, Kuhnemann and Rocchiccioli, along with potentially Connolly as well, could be part of the Australia A squad to tour India for two four-day matches during September, which the selectors will use as a key part of their planning for the Test series.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at Cricinfo

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