Time stands still for no-one, even when you’re the GOAT.
With Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon hobbling from the field with a leg injury on day five of the third Ashes Test, the uncomfortable issue of succession planning has once again been thrust firmly in the direction of Australian selectors.
There’s a strong chance 38-year-old Lyon will be absent from the MCG on Boxing Day after making a lunging save at deep fine leg to prevent a boundary during England’s second innings in Adelaide.
“Hang on, he’s holding his hamstring here, how big a moment is this?” Adam Gilchrist observed worryingly in commentary for Fox Cricket.
MORE: Nathan Lyon in doubt for rest of Ashes series after being subbed out of third test
With Lyon leaving the field immediately and being promptly sent for scans, and later seen on crutches, it could be very big moment indeed.
Should the 562-wicket veteran be unable to take his place for the fourth Test in Melbourne, which starts in less than five days, there’s no clear candidate to take his place.
Of players with Test experience, right arm off-spinner Todd Murphy (7 Tests, 22 wickets) shapes as the most obvious ‘like for like’ replacement, however left armer Matthew Kuhnemann (5 Tests, 25 wickets) and leg spinner Mitchell Swepson (4 Tests, 10 wickets) have also been used in overseas tours—but none of the trio has appeared in a home Test, or commanded ongoing consideration when Lyon has been fit.
More left-field options include uncapped 28-year-old Corey Rocchiccioli from Western Australia, 25-year-old Tanveer Sangha or potentially even Australian ODI and T20I specialist, Adam Zampa, who has never played a Test but knows the international set-up well.
Of course, the selectors could simply opt for no full-time spinner at all—an option that carries far less risk with the Ashes series already won as the players head to Melbourne.