Key Duels of Ashes 2025: The eternal chess match between Joe Root and Nathan Lyon

Against the backdrop of combative strokeplay, the match between the red-hot Joe Root and Nathan Lyon feels quietly different.

The Ashes slips away from ribcage testers or sharp-tongued conversations for a fleeting period, burying itself in subtle adjustments, rhythm, longevity and mental resilience.

Over the past twelve years, this match has become one of the underrated backbones of the Ashes. It’s almost like a game of chess, but played with a 1200 gram English willow and a tired red cherry.

With seven Ashes against the finger spinner, Root has amassed 439 runs from 841 balls, succumbing eight times and batting at 52.2 at a robust average of 54.9.

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From early struggles to adulthood

Their story began in 2013, when Root’s Test tally was just 424 runs and Lyon’s career wickets totaled a modest 76.

Put another way, Root was still finding his way in Test cricket and Lyon established himself as Australia’s first-choice spinner.

Running through the numbers from their first Ashes series reveals the refinement that the 22-year-old Root’s game required.

In 2013/14, as the Ashes unfolded across English and Australian soil, the Yorkshireman managed just 62 runs from 140 balls and was dismissed three times.

Lyon’s drift, bounce and overspin repeatedly exposed Root’s initial indecisiveness, especially when playing over the line or with a closed face.

In 2015, Root’s answer to that challenge was clear. He started sweeping more determinedly, relying on his hands instead of his front pad.

The Home Ashes series in 2015 was productive for the right-hander. He faced the Australian veteran 111 times in the series and scored 83 times while keeping his wicket intact.

It was a testament to how much he had improved in neutralizing Lyon’s angles. It was a sign of maturity, he had learned not to overdo the spin on surfaces that offered little turn.

Lyon, someone who has made 6,981 Ashes deliveries, has also adapted. By the 2019 Ashes, his plan to root was based on subtle variations in pace and drop.

The New South Wales spinner often played with the track and placed close-in catchers on the leg side, tempting Root to defend with bat and pad close together.

That approach paid off with Lyon dismissing Root three times in the 2019 series alone, all poached via tight cordons. As a result, the campaign ended with Australia retaining the urn.

The numbers under the rivalry

Despite yielding more than 400 runs, Lyon’s numbers against Root offer both control and perseverance.

Of the 841 deliveries sent to Root, 566 were dots; about two-thirds of their exchanges ended in silence. That is an unusually high containment rate in modern Test cricket.

For every over Root faces, four deliveries yield no runs on average. Lyon’s accuracy, coupled with his patience, has forced the former England captain to create scoring opportunities rather than wait for loose balls.

Root’s own scoring profile offers an additional story. Against Lyon, he hit 33 fours and four sixes, meaning almost 36 percent of his runs have come from boundaries.

When Root attacks, he tends to do so decisively. The rest of his scoring consists of pushes, deflections and quick singles, which speaks to his method: soft hands, angles and shot rotation to break up Lyon’s rhythm.

The influence of hitting position

Perhaps the most revealing statistic comes from Root Bats. In his usual position of number four, he averages 140.0 against Lyon in the Ashes, scoring 280 runs off 511 balls for just two dismissals.

The reason is simple. At number four, Root usually arrives once the new ball has softened and Lyon’s overs start later, allowing him to assess the pitch and start controlling.

At number three, on the other hand, Root scores just 21.8, with 109 runs from 214 balls and five dismissals.

The difference is not in skill, but in timing. Against Lyon earlier in the innings means less settled conditions and a harder ball that provides unpredictable grip. It also allows Lyon to attack with more men.

Lyon’s methods and Root’s answers

For Lyon, the plan has rarely changed. Bowl a fraction outside the stump, vary the flight and speed and use the natural spring of Australian pitches to draw the error.

Root’s dismissals against him were often the result of slipping thin edges or inside edges on the pad. Lyon’s strength is repetition, rarely a big spinner, always a spinner asking the batsman to play.

Root’s success, if it comes to that, will depend on movement and intention. His main adjustment has been to make more use of the crease, going deep on cutting and late-sweep, or going further up the pitch to nip spin.

In the most recent Ashes, Root took this to the extreme. At Edgbaston, he repeatedly reverse-swept Lyon early in his innings, forcing the off-spinner to change his line.

He scored 51 off 63 balls against him that summer, hitting 81.0, proof that aggression can work when applied with calculation.

What can you expect in 2025

The record books tell you they rose through the ranks side by side.

Lyon, now 37, with more than 560 Test wickets, has been Australia’s constant in a decade dominated by fast bowlers.

Root, with more than 13,500 Test runs, has been the lynchpin of England’s batting order since the retirement of Alastair Cook.

When they meet again in November, it will be a challenge for Root to maintain the proactive intent he showed in 2023 without falling into a trap.

But Lyon will try to do what he has always done: build pressure, hit soft shots and force the batsman to leave or play over the line.

His willingness to run long spells, stick to a gait and subtly vary the pace has punished many greats.

And against the second highest run-scorer in Test match history, those margins could be decisive.

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