Nathan Lyon’s long wait for a World Cup debut set to stretch past Afghanistan opener

Nathan Lyon’s wait for a World Cup debut is set to be extended with the off-spinner likely to miss selection for Australia’s opener against Afghanistan in Bristol, with conditions there more suited to pace.

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Nathan Lyon’s long wait to finally play a World Cup game is set to extend even further with the off-spinner likely to miss selection for Australia’s opener against Afghanistan in Bristol.

The Bristol wicket has not been overly conducive to spin this English season and Australian captain Aaron Finch said Lyon’s hopes of joining forces with Adam Zampa hinged on conditions.

Nathan Lyon travels to the UK as Australia’s second ODI spinner behind Adam Zampa.

But the silver lining for Finch is that less turn in Bristol would severely blunt Afghanistan’s weapons, minimising the minnow’s chances of inflicting a shock loss on June 1.

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The Afghans have access to 30 overs of elite spin courtesy of Big Bash League superstars Rashid Khan (Strikers), Mohammad Nabi (Renegades) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Heat).

Mystery spinner Khan has bamboozled BBL batsman for the past two seasons while Nabi’s experience and batting power helped the Gades secure a home semi-final this year before he departed for national duty.

Experienced Lyon knows his way around English grounds.

Afghanistan also has the benefit of a warm-up match at Bristol, against Pakistan next week, whereas Australia plays its three lead-in games in Southampton.

But England used just seven overs of spin (0/41) in Bristol on Tuesday as the World Cup hosts chased down the target of 359 set by Pakistan with ease.

England won by six wickets in just 44.5 overs despite resting Jos Buttler in another sign it is going to set a hot tempo.

Finch has confirmed attacking leggie Zampa is his No. 1 man and Australia has traditionally opted against rolling out twin tweakers.

But Zampa and Lyon are certain to play in tandem at some stage, and that could happen regularly when pitches start to deteriorate later in the tournament.

“That’s purely conditions-based (playing Lyon and Zampa together),” Finch said

“The reputation of the wicket at Bristol, where we play our first game, is that it spins. But by all reports it didn’t spin a huge amount in the latest domestic one-day comp in England.

“It’s just going to be wait and see what the wickets produce and the best match-up to attack each team is.”

While the big square boundaries at Bristol could mean Lyon is still effective, a third pace option to support Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc is the likely option.

Lyon, 31, has been waiting his whole life to play in a World Cup and narrowly missed selection in the 2015 squad, pipped by Xavier Doherty who played just one match.

Australia’s fourth World Cup game is against Pakistan in Taunton, a tiny English ground known for spinning.

If Lyon is still crying out for a debut that appears the perfect opportunity to blood him on the world’s biggest limited overs stage.

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Originally published as Nathan Lyon’s long wait for a World Cup debut set to stretch past Afghanistan opener