Australia spinner Nathan Lyon made no secret of his disappointment after being omitted for the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, saying he felt “filthy” and was “gutted” by the decision.
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 left out of his first home Test since 2012 as Michael Neser was picked in an all-pace attack for the day-night match.
“Absolutely filthy,” Lyon told Australia’s host broadcaster Seven Network during 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 pink-ball record, with 43 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 25.62, and averages 28.82 in Tests at the Gabba. He said he had not yet discussed the selection 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.”
England closed day one in Brisbane on 325-9, an innings dominated by Joe Root, who finished unbeaten on 135 for his first Test century in Australia. Mitchell Starc again impressed for Australia, taking 6-71 to take his series tally to 16 wickets, while the other four seamers — Scott Boland (1-87), Michael Neser (1-43), Brendan Doggett (0-76) and Cameron Green (0-43) — combined for only two wickets from 55 overs.
“I was amazed they left out Nathan Lyon today,” Michael Atherton said on Sky Sports Cricket’s Ashes Daily podcast. He noted the pitch looked drier and less green than the previous day and suggested it was the sort of surface that might favour a spinner, adding he felt at times the attack looked like “just an okay Australian attack plus Mitchell Starc.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
– First Test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
– Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
– Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
– Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
– Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground