We’ve seen a lot of fast-forward action played throughout the Ashes series, but not much in the way of frontline spin bowling.
England made no wholesale adjustments at all. This is not meant to be any disrespect to Will Jacks. Shoaib Bashir has been ruled out of all five Tests.
Meanwhile, Australia selected Nathan Lyon for the first and third matches but omitted the Brisbane day-night player from the second match. A hamstring injury suffered in the decisive win in Adelaide ruled him out of the final two games.
I don’t like it (I don’t pick spinners). But we keep producing wickets that don’t seem to turn. Seams and cracks will play a big role. In some ways, you get pushed into a corner.
The hosts were able to replace Lyon with fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy in Melbourne. The match lasted only two days, with batsmen toiling on a surface with 10mm of grass, and Sydney was no different.
However, they did not do so and instead opted for an all-face bowling unit for both Tests.
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon took five wickets before a series-ending hamstring injury.
This means Australia fielded a XI at the SCG without a front-line spinner for the first time since 1888. Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton once again laments the lack of diversity.
Atherton said: Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: “I mean the cricket we saw in this series was a bit one-dimensional.
“Looking at the first stadium in Sydney, I can’t say it’s big enough to accommodate five players, but that doesn’t mean the game will start on the last day either, we’ll have to wait and see.
“(Not picking a spinner) could be a reflection on Murphy. I think he would have played if Lyon had been fit. Murphy is not a bad bowler, but he is not Lyon.”
Will Jacks was England’s main spin option in the final four Ashes matches.
Where has all the spin bowling gone?
Only 783 deliveries have been bowled by spinners in this Ashes series and that type of bowling has only taken nine wickets (five for Lyon and four for Jack) at an average of 56.55.
There were just three overspins in the Perth Test on the opening two days of the series, and none at all in the fast-paced Melbourne game.
The first day in Sydney was also spin-free. Even though rain meant only 45 overs, what happened?
Atherton added: “Stadia have become more homogeneous and less diverse, in part due to drop-ins in multi-sport venues such as Brisbane and Adelaide.
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Australia captain Steve Smith has reflected on the fading impact of spin in the game after the two-day MCG Test.
“Sydney has been the exception in terms of spin. If it disappears in the same way as other grounds in terms of having more grass left, there is a lack of variety and that is not necessarily good for the game.
“What we want to see in a five-Test series is the full range of skills.”
Atherton added: “Conditions have changed, it used to be a slow, low turner at the SCG.
“I listened to Steve Smith’s pre-game press conference and he said at the start of his career that the game would go deep into the final day and there would be a lot of backswing and spin.
“But he added that for most of his career, they weren’t like that. Listening to his speech then, I got the feeling that Australia might not play spinners.”
England captain Ben Stokes is once again attacking from all fronts in Sydney.
SCG’s spin-friendly reputation ‘history’
Atherton’s fellow pundit Nasser Hussain added of England and Australia overlooking Sydney’s main spinners: “I think we have to be careful, the weather forecast is hot and we have to choose one side, not only on the first day but also on the last day.
“But I think both captains think the heat will open cracks and that’s when they want a seamer.”
Australia’s assistant coach Daniel Vettori, who took 362 Test wickets for New Zealand with his left-arm spin bowling, said of the SCG’s reputation as a spin-friendly venue:
“I think you’ve seen over the last three years that the output of the spin bowlers here has been declining, which is obviously not what we want, but that’s the nature of the surface.
“I think at some stage we can go back to where we were in the last few years, and at this point it’s all about the fast bowlers.
“I think both teams have seen that spin bowlers have not been effective over the last few years.
“Spin bowling is very important to Test cricket. I think people love to see spin bowling when it is at its best, when the conditions are suitable and conducive to spin bowling.
“We’re at a stage now where that’s not the case. I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes in the future.”
Ashes series 2025-26 in Australia
Australia leads the five-game series 3-1.
