It was a strange way to start. Out of Australia’s last 146 Test matches before taking the field at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Saturday, off spinner Nathan Lyon had missed seven. Four of those were in 2012 and 2013, left out for other configurations of bowlers. Three were after he blew out his calf during the 2023 Ashes. And that was that.
Surprisingly, Kingston became the eighth match that Lyon has missed in his 14 years of Tests, and the fifth when fit, after a series in which he has gone for a few sixes but taken nine wickets at 18. Instead Australia opted to include Scott Boland as the fourth fast bowler for a day-night fixture on a surface that they guessed would suit pace.
