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SELECT 👉 Hagley Oval feed
Lyon "filthy" as experts slam veteran being dropped
SEN • December 5th, 2025 9:54 am
It’s been 14 years since Australia selector elected to drop Nathan Lyon for a test on home soil and the decision to leave him out of the Gabba clash has left experts “stunned and perplexed”.
With 562 wickets and 140 Tests to his name, Lyon has been a stalwart for Australia so the decision for him to sit out the second test against England has raised eyebrows, particularly given the state of the pitch.
It is not the green seamer so often associated with the Gabba, so Lyon's absence raised eyebrows in the SEN commentary box.
“Why didn’t Nathan Lyon play?: Ian Fleming asked. “Lyon is making up those overs, there was a bit of bounce, and he would have bowled a lot of overs. I’m still stunned by that decision (to drop him).
“Unless those cracks do open up, which could happen, if they don’t, it’s only going to be flatter and the ball will get softer quicker. I would suggest England would be out. It’s a whole other argument.
“He missed out in Jamaica but that was a green seamer. When it’s 3mil, he should be playing for me. If there had been rain around, that would lead to an all-out pace attack but the opposite had happened.”
Asked about being left out, Lyon didn’t hold back telling Channel 7 he was filthy with the call and was only informed after he had been out to inspect the pitch.
“(I’m) absolutely filthy,” he said. “But yeah, can’t do anything about it so yeah, hope I can play my role in making sure I get the guys ready and do whatever I can to make sure that we get the right result here.
“I come to the ground as I always do pretty early, about 12pm and found out about 12.30. “(The conversation was) short ... To be honest I haven’t really sat down with Ronnie (coach Andrew McDonald) or George yet.
"I’m letting things settle down in my own head and trying to make sure that I’m, as I said, doing whatever I can to make sure the guys out in the middle representing Australia do the right thing and get the right result for us.”
“The communication is always there, I just hadn’t had it in me to sit down with the coach and George at the moment."
Sharing his thoughts on the selectors' decision, SEN's Gerard Whateley said: "It’s all a little bit perplexing. Lyon would have bowled for an hour.
"That’s the bit I’m struggling most with, the decision made after they looked at the pitch. We looked at it and we needed a spinner. It’s very odd. It will be intriguingly debated."
England reached 9-325 at stumps one day one at the Gabba with Joe Root finally getting his first century on Australian soil.
Mitch Starc was sensation for Australia with 6-71.
