‘Hate it’: Why Lyon should be ‘livid’ with selectors after shock call

Former Australian spinner Steve O’Keefe has lashed the call to omit Nathan Lyon for the Gqeberha Test, saying the 38-year-old should be “livid” with the decision.

The Aussies made the call to leave the off-spinner out at the last moment in favour of Scott Boland, going with four seamers against South Africa.

The decision came after inspecting the pitch, which had up to 8mm of grass on it. Rain, heavy winds and cloudy conditions also worked in Boland's favour.

The Victorian quick rewarded the selectors’ confidence, taking two wickets on a mostly washed out first day of play and nearly landing a hat-trick.

For Lyon however, it's the first time he has been left out of a red ball Test when healthy since 2013.

The previous two instances of the spinner being dropped came in pink ball Tests. The first in Jamaica against the West Indies and the second at the Gabba in 2025 against England.

At the time, he stated he was “absolutely filthy” with being left out of an Ashes Test and wasn’t shy about voicing his frustrations.

O'Keefe believes Lyon has every right to be dirty with the decision makers once again.

“I don’t like it. I hate it. I completely disagree with them not picking a spinner, let alone a spinner with 550 wickets. He should be playing,” O’Keefe told the Chin Music Podcast.

"If you're going innings by innings, OK he didn't contribute (in the second innings in Durban), but they've won the Test.

"If I'm (Lyon) I'm probably even more livid than I was when I was (dropped) in Australia."

The Aussies used a number of part-time spinners in the second innings of their win over South Africa in Durban, with Matt Renshaw bowling 13 overs, and taking two wickets, while Beau Webster and Nic Maddinson also combined for seven overs.

Lyon still bowled more overs than anybody else in the Test match at 42, but O’Keefe wonders whether the Aussies were testing the waters for this omission in that second innings.

"It's almost like they were pre-meditating getting some overs out of other spinners, we don't need (Lyon), we can get them out of others," O'Keefe said.

Former Australian batter Simon Katich meanwhile has backed the call to omit Lyon for Boland, particularly given the talk out of the Aussie camp about the quick dominating in the nets.

"You hear about the training sessions and the fact that all the Australian batsmen are finding Scott Boland hard to face in the nets and we know what his Test record is like, so it's no surprise he gets picked here," Katich told SEN during the first rain delay.

"You've always got to ask the question. What would the opposition prefer to face in the given conditions and yes, it's hard on someone like Nathan Lyon who bowled really well in Durban and has an amazing Test record, but if you asked the South African batsmen … they'd rather face the spinner."

Katich believes Lyon should take the omission in his stride and understand it isn't a reflection on him as a bowler, but rather a one-off given the conditions of the pitch and the weather.

"I'd like to think he would cop this one on the chin and understand the reasoning. I don't know him well enough to know how he's going to handle this one," Katich said.

"We know how he reacted at the Gabba, albeit that had 3mm of grass on it and it was hot and it looked like it should have been a five-day Test. It wasn't because England threw it away in the first innings.

"In this situation, this won't be a five-day Test based on the conditions, but also what we're seeing with the rain.

"Having seen how heavily grassed the pitch is and the history of this ground, it generally has some nibble in it.

“So, if the bowlers bowl as we expect them to against batting line-ups finding their feet, this Test could be played in fast forward.

"Yes, the selectors cop some slack from time to time around these sorts of decisions and that one at the Gabba they copped it, but they got the right result because Michael Neser played his role and it was proven correct.

"It's tradition that you don't want to go into a Test without a spinner, but in this scenario here, you can't fault them for going with Boland here."

Lyon remains the country's number one spinner just days away from his 39th birthday and will likely be in for a big few months with the red ball.

Australia will call on him heavily for the home summer against New Zealand, before away series' in India and England follow, where Lyon will be crucial.