Lyon holds spot after selectors flirt with all-seam attack

Australia have resisted the temptation to leave out Nathan Lyon out for the second NRMA Insurance Test against Bangladesh, confirming on match eve that Matthew Renshaw would be their only inclusion for Mackay's Test debut.

The mild winter weather of central Queensland had the hosts weighing up whether to bring Scott Boland in for Lyon, with Pat Cummins indicating selectors wanted more time to make a call on the make-up of their attack.

Australia XI for second Test: Matthew Renshaw, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

"Trying to give it another day to see whether it's four quicks or a spinner," Cummins initially told reporters at the Great Barrier Reef arena.

But selectors convened pitch-side shortly after Cummins spoke and confirmed Lyon had held his spot. The Aussies had twice played all-seam attacks for pink-ball Tests in 2025 but the last time they left a fit Lyon out of their XI for a red-ball Test was 14 years ago at the WACA Ground.

Australia punted Jake Weatherald one Test into their 20-Test-in-12-months odyssey but have otherwise resisted wholesale changes to their side, also sticking with the misfiring Marnus Labuschagne at No.3.

Renshaw played the last of his 14 Tests in 2023, batting in the middle order in India, but is now confirmed to return to the opening spot he struck a century from in 2016-17 against Pakistan as a fresh-faced 20-year-old.

There was a sense of selectors not throwing the baby out with the bathwater after the nine-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin.

"A lot of people jump to say that, 'You have to win everything' – and obviously we hope we do," said Cummins. "Particularly home Test matches, we pride ourselves on winning as many as we can.

"We were nowhere near our best. But I think Bangladesh played really well. They're a really good cricket team."

Australia were examining footage of an Australia A-India A match at this venue two years ago for clues on how the surface would play.

Brendon Doggett took six wickets on a nippy first-day pitch before the home side chased 225 in the fourth innings with off-spinner Manav Suthar, who has since graduated to India's Test side, having limited impact.

"Looked like it kind of got better to bat on the longer the game went on, but it's a couple of years ago," said Cummins. "You take it as data, but it's not the (only factor affecting the selection) decision.

"It's largely conditions based."

That 'A' contest is one of only three first-class games hosted here in the past decade. None of them have been played as early in the year as this weekend's Test, which curator Peter Kazakoff acknowledged could make his pitch more seam-friendly.

 "Spinners have had a big say later in the match, but obviously that's not my call," said Kazakoff.

"Obviously, those first-class games were a bit later in the year when it was a bit warmer. It's a lot cooler this time of year, so the moisture will come out of the wicket less, and slower."

NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series

First Test: Bangladesh won by nine wickets

Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Amite Hasan, Jaker Ali Anik, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Musfik Hasan, Litton Das, Shoriful Islam