Last year Lyon was omitted for the pink-ball games in Jamaica and at the Gabba. When it happened at Sabina Park, selector Tony Dodemaide termed it a “one-off” due to “exceptional” circumstances yet two Tests later it happened again. Now, after three more matches where Lyon has been available, the same situation has played out.
Unlike when Lyon was left out of those two Tests in 2025, and selectors spoke to explain their rationale, the only insight into Australia’s thinking here came from Pat Cummins’ brief comments at the toss.
“I think partly conditions, and Scotty Boland has been incredible whenever he’s played Test cricket, so it felt like it aligned this week and it was the right time to insert him,” Cummins said. “[He brings] a lot of things. When there’s anything in the wicket, he gets a lot of seam movement. He’s super accurate, and even if it does flatten out he brings that control. Experience, he can bowl bulk overs, so he’s the whole package.”
It means that for the second consecutive Test, Australia’s selectors have made what could be deemed a bold call although, given conditions, it was not on the scale of recalling Nic Maddinson in Durban which saw Matt Renshaw slide to No. 5.
With only 12.2 overs on the opening day in Gqeberha the game needs to evolve further before it can be properly assessed whether Australia will miss a frontline spinner. But the early indications suggest it was the correct call on a well-grassed surface where significant time has already been lost to the weather and more could follow. Seeing Aiden Markram’s middle stump flattened by a nip-backer from Boland, who added a second wicket the next ball, was an emphatic statement.
Cummins had admitted the day before the Test that Boland’s record had made him a frequent selection discussion. “I mean, every Test match we’re trying to work out how we can fit Scotty Boland in there somehow and Nathan Lyon and even [Michael Neser],” he said. “But of course, when you’ve got someone like Scotty… you leave some training sessions shaking your head how that bloke is [not] in your first XI.”
Coupled with his Ashes-ending injury, Lyon has now missed five of Australia’s last 10 Test matches, and it keeps the questions bubbling away about what the future holds.
The fascinating unknown is what would have happened in the latter stages of the 2025-26 Ashes had Lyon not picked up his hamstring injury in Adelaide where he had bowled superbly. Australia went without a frontline spinner at the MCG – which ended in two days – and more significantly at the SCG which ended up providing considerable turn.
Against Bangladesh in August, there was a brief moment when Lyon’s place appeared in doubt in Mackay although that stemmed from the selectors and Cummins having not yet had a final look at the pitch. However, the fact it was even floated as a question highlights where the conversation has reached.
Lyon bowled nicely in the first innings at Kingsmead (having produced a vital innings in the 134-run stand with Renshaw) and offered Cummins control throughout which South Africa’s spinners hadn’t done for Temba Bavuma. But in the final innings, he was largely nullified and it ended up being Renshaw who made the spin roads as Australia secured victory.
It remains uncertain quite what conditions Newlands will serve up for the final Test and whether Australia will again seriously consider four quicks. The home summer may bring further debate around Lyon’s position – he bowled just two overs in last season’s two-day Perth Test against England – although a push towards less grass on pitches, to ensure against short Tests, could aid Lyon’s cause. However, the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG is a pink-ball game.
Before that, Australia have another of their pinnacle tours with five away Tests in India. Barring injury, Lyon will be pivotal in those. He still has a key role to play across this era-defining period but in the space of 15 months, the latter stages of his career have taken on a different complexion.
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at Cricinfo