The world where Lyon doesn't play at the Gabba

When Nathan Lyon was left out of the Jamaica Test earlier this year it was called a one-off, but there is at least a chance of a repeat when the Ashes reaches Brisbane next week if the conditions and England's frantic batting style mean his bowling is likely to be limited in the pink-ball Test at the Gabba.

The selectors omitted Lyon from the final Test in the West Indies when the surface and data on the behaviour of the pink Dukes ball suggested that spin was not going to be required.

That decision proved correct as the game ended in less than two-and-a-half days with no batter reaching 50 and West Indies being bowled out for 27 in the fourth innings when Mitchell Starc took 6 for 9 and Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick.

It was deemed an outcome based on a rare set of circumstance