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After a 2014 yielding of just 14 wickets at an average of 61.5 it would surprise no one if Nathan Lyon’s name were missing from Australia’s first Test team to play India in Brisbane.
A further nail in the off-spinner’s coffin is the tried and trusted blueprint to beat India in Australian conditions. One centring on a battery of fast bowlers serving up real chin music on tailor made fast and bouncy pitches.
It is a foolproof strategy when you take into account the struggles of Indian batsmen throughout their history when faced by this assault in these confines.
Faced by this inevitable prospect it is hard to be enthused by India’s batting prospects. Attaching further doubt is that of the 19-man squad announced only five have experience in Australian conditions.
Significantly, wicketkeeper MS Dhoni and paceman Ishant Sharma contribute 14 of the 21 Tests that the entire squad has played in Australia.
Roll out an all pace attack to welcome India’s batsmen to Australia, right?
The temptation is hard to resist, but, if Australia takes that path it imbalances the team. With all-rounders Shane Watson and Mitch Marsh near certain to be in the top six, both capable of bowling in excess of 140 kilometres, it would leave Australia with six pace options, and only the part-time spin of Steve Smith to turn to for a bit of variety.
A more compelling reason for the inclusion of Lyon, is that the myth of Indian batsmen being the masters against any spin bowling has been reduced to a cliché in recent times. The cracks first started to appear in the 2012-13 home series loss against England, where the spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar destroyed the Indian batsmen.
Their combined return of 37 wickets at an average of 25.07 was startling when you considered that their previous visits to India had yielded 19 wickets at an average of 49. More alarming was the part-time off spin of England’s Moeen Ali with a first-class record of 168 wickets at 38.97 reducing India to rubble with 19 wickets at 23 in England this year.
It points to obvious frailty in the current Indian batting against spin, and the need for Australia to arm itself to exploit this.
Australian fans will question Lyon after a forgettable 2014, culminating in being flayed all around the UAE by Pakistani batsmen in conditions tailor-made for spin.
But with the Ashes on our horizon the key to success is a continuation in the team, rather than constant chopping and changing. If there was a better spin option on the outskirts it would give reason to change, but, Lyon is the best of Australia’s current spinners.
One forgets that at 26, he is still a virtual babe in spin terms. And while his limp efforts against Pakistan were unacceptable, they can be excused because he hasn’t yet had time to hone his skill to a level needed to assume the spearheading role expected of him.
He will not have the same burden against India, with the touring batsmen main focus being on the high-class Australian pace corps, and avoiding obliteration, as well as hospitalisation. The domino effect will be the Indian batsmen viewing him as an escape valve, and the weak link in the attack to plunder.
Lyon will revel in the likely contempt that the batsmen will have for him while being supported and shielded by the pressure that the excellent quicks will exert.
Factor in the current Indian batsmen lacking the controlled aggression that symbolised the mastery of spin from their forefathers, and one can see Lyon being an unexpected weapon.
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