Australia’s veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon did not hide his disappointment after being left out of the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, describing himself as “absolutely filthy” and “gutted” by the omission.
Lyon, who has 562 Test wickets — seventh on the all-time list and third among Australians behind Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563) — was omitted from his first home Test since 2012 when selectors chose Michael Neser to join an all-pace attack for the day-night match.
“Absolutely filthy,” Lyon told Seven Network on day one. “But yeah, I can’t do anything about it, so I 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.”
The off-spinner has a strong record with the pink ball, taking 43 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 25.62, and he averages 28.82 in Tests at the Gabba. Despite those figures, Lyon said he had not yet sat down to discuss the decision with coach Andrew McDonald or selectors’ chair George Bailey.
“I just hadn’t had it in me to sit down with the coach and George at the moment,” he said. “That will happen. I’m not the first player to miss a Test match and I won’t be the last. But, yeah, I’m obviously pretty gutted because I know the role that I can play within Australian cricket and especially at a venue like this.”
On the field, England finished day one in Brisbane on 325-9, an innings largely shaped by Joe Root, who ended unbeaten on 135 — his first Test century in Australia. Mitchell Starc again led the Australian attack, taking 6-71 to move to 16 wickets in the series so far. The other seamers — Scott Boland (1-87), Michael Neser (1-43), Brendan Doggett (0-76) and Cameron Green (0-43) — shared just two wickets across 55 overs.
Former England captain Michael Atherton said on Sky Sports Cricket’s Ashes Daily podcast that he was surprised by Lyon’s omission, noting the pitch appeared drier than the previous day and might have offered something for a spinner. Atherton suggested that, at times, the bowling lineup looked like “just an okay Australian attack plus Mitchell Starc.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26 (UK and Ireland times):
– First Test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
– Second Test (day/night, The Gabba, Brisbane): Thu Dec 4 – Mon Dec 8 (4am)
– Third Test (Adelaide Oval): Wed Dec 17 – Sun Dec 21 (11.30pm)
– Fourth Test (Melbourne Cricket Ground): Thu Dec 25 – Mon Dec 29 (11.30pm)
– Fifth Test (Sydney Cricket Ground): Sun Jan 4 – Thu Jan 8 (11.30pm)