Australia nearly made change seen once in 14 years for Bangladesh Test before coach intervened
Australia nearly made what was once considered an unthinkable change for the second Test against Bangladesh.
The Aussies will look to bounce back from their surprise nine-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test in Darwin, where all three facets of their game were exposed.
They have reacted by dropping opener Jake Weatherald for Matt Renshaw ahead of the second Test, which gets underway in Mackay on Saturday.
The under-pressure Marnus Labuschagne has held on to his spot at number three, while Australia will once again field two all-rounders in Beau Webster and Cameron Green.
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Australia's XI was announced early on Friday.
The long-standing bowling quartet of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon will go again in Mackay, but Cummins revealed that leaving out spinner Lyon for seamer Scott Boland was under consideration.
Lyon, when available, has missed only one home Test match since 2012 and not in any other nation since 2013.
But the 38-year-old recorded figures of 1/102 from 31 overs during Bangladesh's first innings in Darwin, while his counterpart Mehidy Hasan Miraz took a five-wicket haul in Australia's second innings.
Speaking after the squad announcement for the second Test, Cummins told the media that Australia hadn't yet decided whether to field Lyon or go with an all-pace attack.
He stated that they were 'trying to give it another day' when explaining the delay in naming the XI, adding that the decision was 'largely conditions based'.
"If you think there's a good chance, in that first or second bowling innings, you're going to take 10 wickets mainly with the quicks relatively quickly, and then perhaps the fourth innings isn't going to break up, that's a lot of the decision," Cummins said.
According to Fox Sports, however, coach Andrew McDonald wanted to have a further assessment of the pitch during Australia's final practice session, and it was subsequently decided that Lyon would keep his place.
What happened the last time Nathan Lyon missed a home Test
The first and only time since 2012 that Lyon has been left out of the XI for a home Test was for the second Ashes Test against England last summer.
Australia opted to go for an all-pace attack in Brisbane, and ultimately won by eight wickets.
Whether Lyon would have reacted the same way this time to being dropped for Brisbane will never be known, with the spinner telling Channel 7 in December: "Absolutely filthy [how he reacted to the news]. But yeah, can't do anything about it.
"Hope I can play my role in making sure I get the guys ready and do whatever I can to make sure that we get the right result.
"I'm letting things settle down in my own head [before talking to the coach and selectors] and trying to make sure that I'm doing whatever I can to make sure the guys out in the middle representing Australia do the right thing and get the right result for us."
Ryan Smart