Nathan Lyon admits the flight home from the Caribbean felt a touch longer than usual. After 131 consecutive Tests when fit, Australia’s premier off-spinner watched the pink-ball match in Kingston from the dug-out, water bottle in hand, while four quicks dismantled West Indies for 27.
“There’s no point hiding behind it, I was disappointed with the decision, but I totally understood it,” he said in Melbourne during a Renegades sponsor event. The 37-year-old had hoped to share Mitchell Starc’s 100th cap, only to be told the surface offered so little for spin that Australia would go without one.
“Disappointed on a number of levels that: One, I believe I can play a role in any conditions, and I still honestly believe that. And then honestly, the other one was not to walk out on the field with Starcy. I’ve played 90-odd Test matches with Starcy, so to be able to walk out there with him in his 100th would have been amazing. But I was still there, running the drinks, and still part of it.”
The last time Lyon missed a Test for tactical reasons was 2013 in India. On this occasion, selectors felt the fierce, dry Kingston surface would crack early but remain too pace-friendly for finger-spin. Their call proved sound: Scott Boland’s hat-trick lit up the opening evening and the tourists wrapped up victory within three days.
“But at the end of the day, we can sit here and say hats off to them, they made the right call,” Lyon added. “And if I’m going to miss a game, Scott Boland is probably the guy you want to see go out there and perform. And for him to go out there and bowl like he did, like we always know he does, to take a hat-trick, was pretty special. And to witness the guys bowl them out for 27 that was pretty amazing.”
Could the same four-seamer gamble be repeated in England? Assistant coach Daniel Vettori called the Jamaica move “horses for courses” and refused to rule anything out, yet privately team management view Australian conditions — Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide — as strongly favouring a balanced attack. Lyon’s numbers agree: 56 wickets at 23 across those three venues since 2019.
“I’m definitely not thinking about my place in the team,” Lyon insisted. “I know my role in the side, and the conditions really was the reason why I missed that Test match. But I’m fully focused on making sure that fitness levels are high, skill levels are high, leading into the first three Shield games and then into the Perth Test match. I love bowling in Perth. Love bowling all around Australia if I’m being honest with you, so no, I’ve got no doubts there.”
Former Test skipper Ian Chappell supports that stance. “Leaving out Lyon in England would be borderline reckless unless the pitch is a green sheet,” Chappell told ABC Radio. “You need somebody who can hold an end and challenge left-handers. Nathan’s done that for a decade.”
The spinner’s immediate task is regaining rhythm after a light workload: one over across his last two day-night Tests and none in Jamaica. For that he will lean on Sheffield Shield cricket with New South Wales, plus a short spell in club cricket if required. High-performance staff are satisfied he remains fresh, a relief given his calf strain during the 2023 Ashes.
Further up the batting order, Australia have a separate puzzle. Sam Konstas, earmarked as David Warner’s long-term successor, endured a lean Caribbean tour and flew home averaging seven. While coaches talk up “learning experiences”, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw continue to press their cases. Selection chair George Bailey hinted the opener’s berth “remains open” heading into Perth.
For Lyon, such off-season chatter provides useful perspective. “I want to play every game for Australia, and I’ve just got that belief that I can play a role in any conditions, as every cricketer should have that belief,” he said. Experience tells him the phone can ring at any time; confidence tells him he will be ready.
The Ashes start at Optus Stadium on 28 November. Few inside the Australian dressing-room doubt Lyon will be handed the ball sometime before lunch on day one — regardless of how green or dry the strip appears at first glance.
