Lyon survives selection call as Renshaw locked in to open

Mackay, Australia, 21 Aug-Nathan Lyon has kept his place in Australia's XI for the second Test against Bangladesh in Mackay barely an hour after Pat Cummins said an all-pace attack was under consideration as they aim to level the series.

In his pre-match press conference, Cummins confirmed that Matt Renshaw would make his Test comeback at the top of the order but did not announce his full XI for the second Test, saying they wanted to give the pitch another day before making a decision at a venue hosting its first Test match.

"Again, another pitch we haven't played [on] before in red ball or in a Test match, so just trying to give them another day really to see whether it's four quicks or a spin," Cummins said. In the end, following some brief conversations, they needed just an hour to decide on retaining a frontline spinner, which meant a recall for Scott Boland was kept on ice.

Lyon has not missed a home red-ball Test since 2012, when he sat out against India at the WACA, and none anywhere since 2013. He has recently been omitted from pink-ball Tests in Jamaica and at the Gabba last season, but had he been left out of a traditional fixture it would have marked a significant shift in Australia's thinking.

Great Barrier Reef Arena curator Peter Kazakoff said he expected "a lot of pace" and carry from the surface, with "similarities" to the Gabba; there should be some early assistance for the quicks but become a good surface for batters and spinners later in the game.

Australia have studied footage from the Australia A-India A match player here in October 2024 where neither first innings totals were 107 and 195 with Brendan Doggett and Mukesh Kumar taking six-wicket hauls.

Spin did a play a role in the Sheffield Shield match the ground hosted in 2023, when Mitchell Swepson claimed five wickets, although that match was later in the season. "It's a lot cooler this time of year, so the moisture will come out of the wicket less, and slower," he said.

Lyon took 1 for 102 in the first innings in Darwin, his first match back after his Ashes-ending hamstring injury last December, and Bangladesh's batters played him superbly, at times scoring at more than four an over.

"I think it's largely conditions based," Cummins said of the selection call before the XI was confirmed. "If you think there's a good chance that first or second innings [of the match] you're going to take ten with mainly the quicks relatively quickly, and perhaps the fourth innings isn't going to break up, that's a lot of the decision.

"And then, you know, probably the extra layer is having someone like Scotty Boland on the bench who obviously is very class. I think that's why the conversation always comes up."

Australia's confirmed change had been flagged a few days ago when Renshaw was brought into the squad at Jake Weatherald's expense. Weatherald had scored 23 and 0 in Darwin, dismissed by Player of the Match Hasan Mahmud on both occasions, and that triggered the latest episode of the merry-go-round with Australia's Test openers.

"Obviously a really tough one for Wethers," Cummins said. "I thought he was awesome around the group. I really like the way he goes about it but, you know, over the course of six Test matches, [he] just didn't quite score the runs that he or we would have liked. Like anyone, [he needs to] go back [to domestic cricket], knock the door back down. He'll be around, I suspect, for a full Shield season so go and show that you are better than anyone else in that competition."

Renshaw will turn out for his 15th Test, and his first since 2023, having been on standby for this series after training with the squad in Brisbane.

He averaged 49.90 in the Sheffield Shield last season with three centuries and has impressed on his introduction to Australia's white-ball sides. He was a late addition to the T20 World Cup squad earlier this year when he replaced Matt Short. Overall in Test cricket, Renshaw averages 29.31 with a top score of 184 against Pakistan in early 2017.

"He's been really impressive," Cummins said. "[He] had some great off-season tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh recently with [the] white ball, looks in good nick, [and] had a really good Shield season last season.

"We just want his best. I think some of the kind of chat about Renners in the past is he can look different from day to day. I think now, when you get to your back half of your career as a batter, you want to really know what you look like at your best and I think he does that. That's the hope with Renners, is [to] keep bringing your best version every day. That's being nice and sharp, putting a bit of pressure back on the bowlers."

His return means that outside of Usman Khawaja, who was established at the top of the order before his final series against England, Australia will have had seven openers since David Warner retired in early 2024. Travis Head is continuing in the role after his success in the Ashes - where he was elevated when Khawaja was injured in Perth.

When Renshaw last played Test cricket, in February 2023 in India, he was a concussion sub for Warner and batted at No. 5 with Head and Khawaja opening.

Australia's XI for the second Test against Bangladesh

Travis Head, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.Cricinfo