Day/Night Test: Australia could deny Nathan Lyon a shot at history in pink-ball tie, know how

Nathan Lyon could be denied a shot at history as Australian captain Pat Cummins feels puzzled picking the playing XI for the third and final Test against West Indies, a Day/Night affair, at Sabina Park starting Saturday (Jul 12). Sitting at the seventh spot on the list of bowlers with the most Test wickets (562), one short of equaling Glenn McGrath’s record as the second-most for an Australian behind late Shane Warne, Lyon could fail to make it to the side for the first time in 12 years, Cummins hinted on match eve. Should the selectors drop the off-spinner for a pacer, he will have to wait for another five months to enter the record book.

A combination of pink ball and playing conditions at Sabina Park could force Australia to do something they have not done in over a decade - bench their best spinner regardless of the pitch. Although they have already won the series, the Australian Team wishes to tick off their first away Day/Night Test win and whitewash West Indies.

Meanwhile, barring three Tests that Lyon missed during the last away Ashes (in 2023) due to a calf injury, he hasn’t been absent from a red-ball game since one against England in 2013. Asked if Australia would punt on benching Lyon for a pacer in the pink-ball tie, Cummins said, "I think everything's an option. We honestly haven't settled on it. We all left yesterday and thought we'd just sleep on it, come back and have a look and make up our mind today."

In a series dominated by the quicks, Lyon has picked up nine wickets in two Tests at 18.33, including six in the second Test in Grenada, but Cummins said he needs to consider the conditions before picking the final XI.

"[There are] a few more unknowns…I think mainly pink ball and trying to get our heads around exactly what it's going to do," Cummins said before the training session. "That last session [under lights] might be a little bit longer than Adelaide."

The third Test at Sabina Park will begin at 00:00 hrs on Sunday (Jul 13) IST.