- Tom Moody doesn’t have Nathan Lyon in his Aussie Test XI
- Believes hosts should overlook off-spinner for second Test
- Gabba in Brisbane tends to be a haven for pace bowlers
Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody has sensationally called for Nathan Lyon to be dropped ahead of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.
It comes as the decorated off-spin bowler, 38, needs just one wicket to equal Glenn McGrath’s career haul of 563 dismissals at Test level.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports, Moody urged selectors to make the call on what is tipped to be a seamer-friendly deck.
Lyon barely featured in Perth with the ball as the quicks ran riot across two days of frenetic cricket.
‘A few hard decisions need to be made…and my personal view is I wouldn’t play Lyon,’ Moody, a two-time ODI World Cup winner, said.
‘I never thought I’d see the day where you don’t play a specialist spinner in a Test match in Australia, but with day-night cricket, it’s hard to get the spinner into the contest.
‘The second part to that is, the way England play, it’s very hard to get the spinner into the game…because they don’t tend to bat for long periods of time.
‘I think Australia would be better having someone like [Beau] Webster taking Lyon’s spot and [as a result] lengthening the batting order.’
Moody also believes Usman Khawaja needs to urgently address his fitness – and form – if he is to feature in the rest of the Ashes series.
The 38-year-old couldn’t open the batting in the first innings in Perth because he took a toilet break, with debutant Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne instead facing the new ball.
It followed England being bowled out for just 172 from 32.5 overs.
Cricket Australia initially attributed Khawaja’s absence to ‘toilet breaks and stretching’.
However, it later emerged he had been dealing with back stiffness – after playing multiple rounds of golf ahead of the first Test.
Batting at four, Khawaja didn’t last long once out in the middle.
He made just two runs from six balls before a Brydon Carse delivery sent him trudging back to the change room.
Travis Head’s brilliant century as the hosts chased down a target of 205 with ease on day two then saw ‘Uzzie’ not required to bat.
One thing is for certain – Khawaja will be desperate to finish his Test career on his terms – but whether selectors are accommodating remains to be seen.
