Nathan Lyon has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series, with Todd Murphy to replace the injured spinner at Headingley.
Lyon was on Sunday night given the news he would not return for any of the final three Tests, with medical staff confirming the 35-year-old had suffered a badly torn calf.
It means the offspinner’s run of 100 straight Test matches is over, leaving Murphy to step in as chief tweaker after 10 years of Lyon holding the role.
Murphy’s inclusion could be one of multiple changes for Australia at Leeds, given the short turnaround after the tourists sent down 81.3 fourth-innings overs in their 43-run win at Lord’s.
One option had included Australia going without a frontline spinner and banking on part-timer Travis Head at Headingley, allowing for four quicks and allrounder Cameron Green to play.
Nathan Lyon is checked on by Joe Root. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
But coach Andrew McDonald indicated Murphy would take to the field.
“Todd is pretty well placed,” McDonald said. “We like to have a spinner in our attack, it’s a different balance.
“As you saw (at Lord’s), at certain times we had to do it differently without Nathan Lyon down the other end which we’ve been so used to. At times it looked a bit chaotic. We do like to have that spin option in the attack.”
Murphy’s place is further shored up by the fact Australia opted not to include another spinner in their squad.
Matt Renshaw has been released from squad duties given the form of Australia’s openers, however he will remain in England as a reserve player in case of injury. The selectors have more to consider for Headingley.
Mitchell Starc proved his value after being recalled for Lord’s, producing one of the balls of the series so far in the first innings to draw Ben Stokes’ edge.
He bettered that delivery in the second innings, when he swung one back through Ollie Pope’s bat and pad to knock middle stump out of the ground, delivering an early blow to the hosts’ chase of 371.
Starc missed the first Test at Edgbaston, but would be confident of playing at Headingley after his pace lent extra fire to Australia’s short-pitched approach.
Pat Cummins is all but certain to play as captain, leaving selectors to decide between picking Josh Hazlewood for a third straight Test or returning a fresh Scott Boland to the team.
“We’ll assess where everyone’s at and assess the surface and weather conditions up there,” McDonald said.
“To see (Starc)’s impact with the new ball … (he and Cummins) gave us a really good start early (in the fourth innings). Four down really put (England) on the back foot.
“It’s promising signs for Starcy but we feel as though we have a really good collective to get through the series.”
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Good one.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Yep.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Dude, just saying, if McDonald was a bowler then Mitch Marsh is a number 11.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Green is a better bowler than Neser?
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Marsh is not better with the ball, and barely better with the bat. Do you not realise that it is possible to consider a player’s bowling? Overall, Neser is a better choice than Marsh. Nothing hurts a team more than needing to rely on someone like Marsh bowling 10-15 harmless overs a day. It is basically a free 40-60 runs to the opposition. The three to eight runs per innings more that Marsh might score will more than be accounted for by Neser’s better bowling. However, if you are obsessed with six batsmen, fine, I would take a specialist batsman in green’s spot. Also, Neser’s runs from February were long ago but no problem with picking Marsh based on what he did three years ago?
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Handful of not outs. Not much chop. He was a bowler though. Didn't you know that? That's how he made the Oz team. That was the conversation. We don't have a bowling coach because we have a bowler as head coach. Your desire to be contrary is causing you to misunderstand threads. Join the general conversation.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Neser is a tailender.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
That doesn't matter. He's better. You are shackled by stats and records. Watching cricket gives way more information.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Green is the better bowler. And you can't have 5 bowlers all fielding at fine leg.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
A bowler that averaged 40 with the bat in first-class cricket? I agree that he was a really good bowler, but describing him a bowler sells him short a bit.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Marsh has not played Shield cricket in three years and has a poor test record despite heaps of opportunities. Hardie is a good option but neser had a better average than him with bat and ball last season.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Neser might actually bowl if he played though. If not we should have a specialist batsman in Green’s spot instead. Been over this.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Ponting as a bowling coach? Andrew McDonald was a bowler. He bowled as well as he coaches.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
If ever we want to drop Green, which would not even be a thought bubble, the replacement would be Marsh, not Neser. Back home, it would be Hardie, not Neser.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
That is silly. We don't even give Green a bowl. Why play yet another quick?
Opeo
Roar Rookie
I am not advocating for Neser to be picked as a batsman. I am advocating for him to be picked as an all rounder. This point has been made abundantly clear. He is obviously a better bowler than Green and given that Green is averaging 27.7 with the bat over the last 12 months we might get more runs out of Neser too.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
That been clear for some time. Neser as a test batsman, indeed!
Opeo
Roar Rookie
Cool. I am glad I have you to ask but I sometimes cannot tell when cricketers are in serious competition or if they are just practising.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Shield is a standard that brings competition. County is just practise for good players.
Opeo
Roar Rookie
For how long is OK for a guy who is primarily there as a batsman to be averaging 28? 18 months, two years, three years, four years? If Renshaw came in and averaged 28 over 12 months and took 12 wickets I am almost certain that he would be dropped.