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Nathan is turning into a Lyon Heart

Roar Guru
13th December, 2014
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Why is Australia's best spinner continually ignored in the shorter forms? (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Roar Guru
13th December, 2014
0

It was great watching Nathan Lyon spin the Aussies to victory on the fifth day of the Test match.

Often criticised for not performing, the off-spinner seems to have developed more of an aggressive streak to his bowling.

Last summer against the Poms Lyon started bowling around the wicket to the right handers, which is usually considered a defensive move but it was effective and he bowled quite well in the series.

In the third Test at the MCG he took a five-for in the second innings to set the Aussie up for an easy chase.

It would have been very easy for him to revert back to bowling over the wicket on Day 5 of this Test match, especially after the tea break when the Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli were really going after him and succeeding.

In the past he would have dropped his bundle when attacked in such fashion but on this occasion he stuck to his guns and spun the side out.

He went for a few runs as his economy rate was over four an over, but the point is he went after the batsmen – batsmen that are exceptional players of spin – and he came out on top.

I’m expecting Lyon to be a real handful at the Gabba as he will generate more bounce than in Adelaide, which is his real strength as an off-spinner.

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It’s one of the reasons he struggles in the sub-continent. Sure the pitches there turn a lot more but without the bounce he’s not as effective. It’s an area of his game he will need to improve on if he is to become a more complete off-spinner.

But he is improving and hopefully by the end of his career he’ll be known as the best Australian off-spinner of the modern era.

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