When was the last time Australia played a Sydney Test without a spinner?

Australia pulled a 138-year first Sunday by failing to pick a spinner for a Sydney Cricket Ground Test, with skipper Steve Smith saying he had been backed into a corner.

Not since 1888 has the host neglected to play a frontline slow bowler at the storied venue, once considered the country’s spin haven.

But with all-rounder Beau Webster selected for the fifth and final Ashes Test against England and Todd Murphy overlooked, the unprecedented run was broken.

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“Hate doing it,” said Smith.

“But if we keep producing wickets that we don’t think are going to spin and seam is going to play a big part and cracks are going to play a big part, you kind of get pushed into a corner.”

It is becoming a trend in Australia with the home side overlooking veteran Nathan Lyon for the pink-ball second Test in Brisbane before his injury replacement Murphy’s non-selection in Melbourne and Sydney.

In Sydney, England also failed to play its top spinner Shoaib Bashir for a fifth straight game, meaning he will return home having not bowled a ball in a Test in Australia.

Just nine wickets have been taken by spinners across the first four Tests of the series, from a fraction of the total overs bowled.

Speaking in Melbourne after a seam-friendly fourth Test ended inside two days, Smith elaborated on why spinners were not being used.

“With a lot of the wickets we’re playing on now, I think spin … is the easiest thing to face,” he said.

“On some of these wickets that are offering a lot of seam, it’s almost got to the point where (you ask): ‘Why would you bowl it when you know you could leak 30 or 40 runs quickly if they decide to play positively and the game shifts immediately?’

“I love seeing spinners play a part in the game, but right now, why would you?”

Published on Jan 04, 2026