Australia will consider dropping veteran spinner Nathan Lyon for the third Test against the West Indies in Jamaica, with captain Pat Cummins confirming the tourists haven’t settled on a starting XI for the series finale.
Having already retained the Frank Worrell Trophy with consecutive wins in Barbados and Grenada, Australia will target a series whitewash when it faces the West Indies for a pink-ball Test in Kingston this week. It will not only be Australia’s first overseas day-night Test, but also the team’s first match using the pink Dukes ball.
The Jamaica Test is expected to be another bowler-dominated affair, with Australia’s batters reporting “swing and nip” during their twilight training session under Sabina Park’s newly-installed floodlights. Of the previous 12 Test innings at the Kingston venue, only once has the batting side reached 300.
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Speaking to reporters at Sabina Park on Friday, Cummins confirmed that Australia was considering changing its starting XI for the series finale, which gets underway on Sunday morning at 4.30am AEST.
“We’re going to have another look at it (tomorrow),” Cummins said.
“With the pink ball there’s a few more unknowns, so we just want to have another look at the wicket, give it a bit of time and work out a team later.
“We’re still trying to get our heads around exactly what (the pink ball) will do.”
Asked specifically whether Lyon was at risk of missing selection, Cummins responded: “Everything’s an option.”
Barring the 2023 Ashes campaign, when he sustained a calf injury that ruled him out of the final three matches, Lyon has not missed selection for a Test since 2013.
The 37-year-old only produced one over during Australia’s most recent pink-ball Test, last December’s contest against India in Adelaide Oval, while he didn’t bowl a single delivery during the 2022 day-night Test against England at Bellerive Oval.
However, Lyon boasts a superb record in pink-ball Tests, taking 43 scalps at 25.62 — only national teammate Mitchell Starc has more wickets in day-night matches.
The off-spinner only needs two wickets to surpass Glenn McGrath’s career tally of 563 Test scalps, at which point he’d become Australia’s second-leading wicket-taker in the format behind Shane Warne.
“It’s all hypothetical here,” Cummins said when pressed further on the potential conditions-based call.
“Everyone here has a pretty good track record of doing whatever the team needs and being really excited for the guys that play.”
Victorian quick Scott Boland would be the most likely option to replace Lyon in the starting XI should Australia opt for an all-pace attack, while fellow seamer Sean Abbott is another candidate. The New South Welshman would strengthen the team’s batting, while he claimed a six-wicket haul during a pink-ball Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in March.
All-rounder Beau Webster can switch to spin if required, while Travis Head is a proven wicket-taker with his part-time tweakers, averaging 25.12 with the ball in Tests since March 2022.
The Jamaica contest will be Starc’s 100th Test, becoming just the second Australian fast bowler to reach the milestone alongside McGrath.
