The Australians did not pick a single spinner in their XI for the fifth Test against England.
Australia enters the list of baffling decisions made by teams in the longest format of the game after their playing XI selection for the 5th Ashes 2025-26 Test. The hosts went without the services of a full-time spinner against England in Sydney. Though the decision is being spoken a lot about, the team seem to be at peace with it.
Assistant coach Daniel Vettori spoke about the decision at length and brushed off all the speculation over the same. Vettori answered a range of questions in the press conference post the conclusion of the first day of the Sydney Test, the most important of which turned out to be the spinner’s spot in the playing XI.
The assistant coach stood firm on his opinion that the diminishing role of spinners was purely due to the surfaces that were being provided in certain parts of the world, and had nothing to do with the craftsmanship of the bowlers. Similar was the case with Todd Murphy, who was brought into the squad as a replacement for the injured Nathan Lyon, but had to be benched.
“The wickets over the last couple of years have been conducive to seam bowling, and the seamers have been so effective that it’s hard to go away from them. It just feels like they’re the ones that are going to be in the game most of the time, and the spinners haven’t been able to get into the games on these types of surfaces”, said Australia assistant coach Vettori.
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The diminishing involvement of spinners in recent times, especially in the longest format of the game, has become significantly visible in countries like Australia and England, where seamers are being favoured more often due to the nature of the pitches.
The same mindset was applicable on the other side of the dressing room as well. England went without the services of Shoaib Bashir. He warmed the bench for all five Tests in the Ashes 2025-26. The former New Zealand spinner stated that it is not something that the Australians like, but that is what the pitches offer these days.
“I don’t think it’s going to be something that’s going to continue on for years on end. Spin bowling is incredibly important to Test match cricket. I think people love watching it when it’s at its absolute best, when conditions can suit and assist the spin bowler. We’re just in the stage now where that’s not the case”, voiced Vettori.
The assistant coach firmly believes that this is just a phase and that the importance of the art of spin bowling will keep shining through in Test cricket. In the first Test of the series, Nathan Lyon bowled just two overs, with the Test ending in less than two days. The concerns and speculations around the role of spinners in Test cricket started coming in recently.
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