{"id":331898,"date":"2025-12-07T02:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T02:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/331898\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T02:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T02:54:11","slug":"has-mitchell-starcs-spell-highlighted-nathan-lyons-importance-for-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/331898\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Mitchell Starc\u2019s spell highlighted Nathan Lyon\u2019s importance for Australia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe longevity of his career, as well, is something you have to admire. That last spell he bowled today was probably his quickest spell of the whole game. It just shows what an athlete he is, and what a competitor he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tolling. Starting at 2pm, it was quite hot out there \u2026 to back it up with the ball like he did is special, and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll back it up tomorrow [Sunday].\u201d<\/p>\n

But that opening Starc stint, having batted for 35 overs, perhaps issued a warning of how great a burden he had carried in the injury absences of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.<\/p>\n

Starc\u2019s 56.5 overs this series \u2013 claiming 18 wickets \u2013 equate to roughly a third of the total overs Australia have bowled.<\/p>\n

Even as Cummins declared in Fox Cricket commentary he would line up in Adelaide\u2019s third Test, barring any hiccups, one telling admission made the recall of Nathan Lyon a must.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

Cummins revealed he was bowling well in his recovery from a lumbar bone stress concern, but was yet to do so on consecutive days. The captain\u2019s ability to get through his overs across five days, and threaten England\u2019s top order, will be needed if Starc is to be afforded some respite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing that happens is you could get a \u2018hot spot\u2019 as a way of explaining it, where the bone actually hasn\u2019t cracked, but it is pretty bloody close to cracking,\u201d leading physiotherapist Dr Kevin Sims said earlier this summer of injuries similar to Cummins\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to stop and protect it and allow them to recover, it doesn\u2019t progress to being a fracture. If you keep going through that, it can quickly turn into a fracture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cummins can be confident, but not certain, his body will hold up until he gets through that clash.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Lyon.<\/p>\n

Since Australia\u2019s greatest off-spinner made his Test debut in 2011, 13 pacemen have garnered Baggy Green caps. Of those, seven have played fewer than five games, with the quartet of Starc, Cummins, Boland and Hazlewood beacons of consistency for the past four years.<\/p>\n

\"Nathan<\/p>\n

Nathan Lyon was frustrated by his omission from the second Test.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

And according to Sims, whose career includes 20 years with Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket, Lyon\u2019s unheralded fitness and ability to tie up one end had been a key factor in that consistency.<\/p>\n

Lyon, who bowled just two overs in Perth\u2019s opening Test, was left filthy at his axing for the day-night Gabba Test in favour of an all-ace attack, albeit it gave Neser a third cap he feared would not come after tearing his hamstring last season.<\/p>\n

Starc may get a reprieve at Adelaide Oval, given only one score above 400 has been managed in four Sheffield Shield contests at the venue this summer.<\/p>\n

But with three Tests remaining beyond Sunday\u2019s fourth day in Brisbane, preserving the star quick is a must. Lyon may hold the key to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has a ceiling,\u201d Sims said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Lyon] can bowl large volumes, and it allows fast bowlers to rotate through their spells, and that way, there\u2019s always going to be an opportunity for some recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what all the really good teams in the world have, someone they can rely on. He\u2019s been crucial to the longevity of Australia\u2019s attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe longevity of his career, as well, is something you have to admire. That last spell he bowled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-331898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}