Lyon dropped, Hope takes stunning catch, Smith annoyed by lights - quick hits from West Indies vs Australia

Nathan Lyon is left out of Australia's Test XI for the first time since 2013 as West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope takes a stunning catch.

Here are the quick hits from the day-night Test in Jamaica.

1. Side-Lyoned

Lyon was a suprise omission from Australia's XI for the pink ball Test. (AP: Ricardo Mazalan)

Nathan Lyon was dropped on two tours in 2013 — in India and England — but since then the off-spinner has been one of the first names on the Australian team sheet as he has climbed to seventh among all Test wicket-takers.

He is sitting on 562, third among Australians and one behind Glenn McGrath, but will have to wait until this summer's Ashes to try to claim second place after he was left out of the team for the third Test in Jamaica.

Pat Cummins and selectors opted for an all-pace attack with the pink ball under lights at Sabina Park, with Scott Boland coming in for his first Test since January.

A calf injury sidelined him for three games in 2023, but this marked the first time in 12 years that a fully fit Lyon missed a Test since that 2013 Ashes series in England.

2. Konstas gets two lives in two balls

Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja looked pretty scratchy in the opening overs in Kingston.

That almost came to a head in the fifth over when Konstas clipped to square leg and took off for a single, only for Khawaja to rightly send him back.

Australia's first taste of away day-night Test cricket — as it happened Photo shows A cricket batter looks down while a bowler runs in celebration. Boasting a formidable 12-1 record in pink-ball Tests on home soil, Australia gets its first look under lights abroad, taking on the West Indies in their final Test in Jamaica.

But Konstas was already committed and could only watch as John Campbell ran around, gathered the ball and threw at the striker's stumps, just missing.

Not content with being gifted a second life, Konstas then asked for and received a third when he drove at a ball outside off and got a thick edge into the slips cordon.

It flew in between debutant Kevlon Anderson and Justin Greaves, with the rookie diving and sticking his left hand out at third slip. The ball bounced out and actually hit Greaves at second slip, but it couldn't be reined in.

It was the 10th dropped catch for the West Indies in the series.

3. Green reviews in the nick of time

Jayden Seales's appeal was affirmed, but Cameron Green's review saved him. (AP: Ricardo Mazalan)

It was a first session of grit from the Australians, who were much more focused on preservation than run-scoring.

Both in desperate need of scores, Konstas and Khawaja poked and prodded, played and missed to score just 21 in the opening hour.

Not long after drinks, Konstas was caught plumb in front to Justin Greaves's very first delivery of the match.

It always looked out, but after consultation with his opening partner, he decided to send it upstairs.

Sure enough, three reds meant Australia had burnt a review and that might have been playing on Cam Green's mind only a matter of overs later.

Given out to one that looked much more likely to be overturned, Green waited until the very last second to ask the third umpire to have a look at it.

Thankfully for Green, the technology projected the delivery to be sliding down leg and the big number three was handed a life.

4. Shai gives Hope with stunner

Khawaja had his fair share of luck in his painstaking innings of 23 from 92 deliveries.

He gritted his teeth and stood his ground through a colourful catalogue of plays and misses, and when he finally did get an edge on an angling Shamar Joseph special, he looked destined to survive that as well.

With the ball flying towards that uncomfortable gap between wicket-keeper and first slip, West Indies WK Shai Hope made the executive decision to fling himself forward, left and to the ball.

Fully outstretched, Hope managed to get his weaker glove underneath the fast-falling pink Dukes and Khawaja's uncomfortable vigil was over before sundown on day one.

5. Anyone got the time?

Steve Smith looked unsettled under the lights after dinner. (AP: Ricardo Mazalan)

Sabina Park received an upgrade in order to host a day-nighter, but there wasn't much time to test all the various bits and pieces involved before the third Test.

Steve Smith, the ultimate problem solver and finder, discovered a quirk of the ground as the lights took effect straight after dinner.

As he took his guard against Shamar Joseph, Smith took issue with something behind the bowler's arm, which is nothing new for him. But this time it wasn't an inattentive fan, rather an issue with the big analog clock.

One of the floodlights was causing a reflection or some glare off the clock face and distracting the Australian star.

Eventually, a match official, with some help from an Australian team staff member, found a massive black towel to cover up the offending timepiece and the game could finally resume.

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