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Aussie cricket fans have been debating whether Nathan Lyon makes the XI for the day-night Test with the quicks once again set to steal the show, but one stat could sway the selectors in favour of the spinner. Australia took a 1-u0 lead in Perth after Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland did the damage with the ball to hand Travis Head the opportunity to score a match-winning century.
But the victory marked another occasion where Lyon was once again on the periphery of the action at home having bowled two overs across the two innings. And last summer, Lyon was on the periphery of the wickets in Adelaide and at the Gabba.
This has once again prompted question marks over whether the offspinner will feature in Brisbane for the day-night Test. Australia could opt to bring in Beau Webster for Lyon in the Pink-ball Test, which would give Australia extra batting depth with an option to bowl.
There have also been calls for a specialist batter to come into the No.6 role with suggestions Starc, Boland, Brendan Doggett and allrounder Cameron Green will be able to handle all the bowling. However, other than Starc – who has excelled with the pink lacquer on the ball – no one has done better than Lyon under lights.
Starc has taken 81 wickets at 17.08, which is by far the best record for an Australian. Following him on the list is Lyon who sits equal-second. Lyon and Pat Cummins have both taken 43 wickets in day-night Tests.
Incredibly, only Starc (450.3) has bowled more overs than Lyon (427.5) in day-night Tests. While the stats suggest Lyon should remain as an option in Brisbane if the pitch requires plenty of overs, the Australian pitches have heavily favoured the quicks across the last two years.
Lyon bowled just one over across last summer's day-night win over India in Adelaide. However, the move to Brisbane might see a change of conditions with the offspinner always adapting well to the bounce on offer.
And coach Andrew McDonald suggested there would be no call on whether Lyon makes the XI until a look at the pitch and Brisbane conditions in the build-up to the Test. Fans remain divided over whether Lyon should feature with Usman Khawaja also battling to hold onto his place up the order after succumbing to a back injury in the first Test.
Lyon was already dropped for the third Test against the West Indies earlier this year, which marked the first time since 2013 he had been left out of the XI. But speaking on ESPN Cricinfo, former Australian captain Michael Clarke claimed he wouldn't make any changes to the winning side with the likes of Pat Cummins also left out of the squad as he recovers from a back injury.
"He's in for sure. He's in my XI every Test match unless it's an absolute raging green seamer," Clarke said. "Even in Perth for the first Test, the wicket didn't look that bad but I'm still picking a spinner in my team. I know he didn't have the impact (in Perth) but Lyon is in for mine and with Cummins and Hazlewood not 100% fit, I'm going the same XI for Australia. I'm not making any changes (for the second Test)."
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Last week, cricket reporter Bharat Sundaresan weighed-in on the situation. The reporter said because Lyon was left out of the XI a few months ago against the West Indies, it has now opened up the possibility that it could happen again.
"If this discussion was being had before the Jamaica Test…you would say, 'No chance.' Because there was no precedence…suddenly you add Webster into the mix, whether you bat him at No.7 or No.8. That does add that depth to the batting, which we didn't see here," Sundaresan said on SEN Radio.
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