Cummins closes the conversation for four quick

Skipper Pat Cummins has thrown cold water on Australia for fielding four front-line fast bowlers during the Ashes series against England, saying it was “highly unlikely” that spinner Nathan Lyon would be overlooked.

Lyon was dropped for Australia’s final Test, against the West Indies in Jamaica, a pink-ball match they won in three days.

Spearhead Mitchell Starc took 6-9 and Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick as the home side reached 27.

It was the first time Lyon had not played a Test in 12 years.

But Cummins, who is battling a back injury to be fit for the first Ashes Test in Perth on November 21, said it was a different scenario to the pitches that will host Ben Stokes’ England.

“I would find it very unlikely that we would leave Gaz (Lyon) at all this summer,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday.

“Kingston was extreme — pink-ball conditions, long grass, wickets up and down.

“I’ll almost guarantee there won’t be four quicks this summer, especially with some all-round players in the squad as well,” he added.

“You probably have to look at the pitch and basically think it’s going to be a terrible two-and-a-half-day pitch or a three-day pitch. In Kingston, we didn’t think the game would see a fourth day.

“Most games in Australia, even if it’s green, you think it’s going to be flat and you’re going to want Gaz.”

Lyon generally thrives on home soil, where he has taken 268 of his 562 Test wickets at an average of 31.08.

If he lines up for his 140th Test in Perth, as expected, he can overtake Glenn McGrath to become the sixth-highest wicket-taker in history, claiming two more scalps.

The big question for Australia remains the fitness of Cummins, who said last week he was “probably less likely” to play the Ashes opener.

If he bows out, Boland is expected to lead the attack alongside Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

England bring a heavy attack for the Five-Test series, led by Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood.

They only have one specialist spinner in Shoaib Bashir and Lyon have warned England that they would be making a mistake not to play him.

“For me, you pick a spinner on each side because the variation changes the tempo of the game,” he said earlier this month.

Whether England will opt for an all-pace attack in Perth remains to be seen, but the selectors will know that their spinners have often struggled in Australian conditions.