Nathan Lyon explains why England are poised to make a crucial tactical error in selection for the Ashes
Shoaib Bashir appears set to be England’s anointed spinner for the upcoming Ashes Down Under, but Australia’s greatest off-spinner of all-time believes the old enemy may be about to make a mistake.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Nathan Lyon believes England are poised to make a crucial tactical error by snubbing their best spinner for the Ashes.
With 21-year-old battler Shoaib Bashir anointed as England’s No. 1 spinner this summer, the best veteran Jack Leach can hope for is to make the tour as the No. 2, even though Lyon is adamant Leach is still the Old Enemy’s best hope of making inroads in Australia with slow bowling.
Bashir has been earmarked for this Ashes campaign for a long time out of a belief his height (1.93cm) can help him replicate the bounce that has made Lyon so effective on Australian soil when other spinners become cannon fodder when they tour Down Under.
But this is despite the fact Bashir averages 39 runs per wicket for the 68 he has taken in 19 Tests so far.
Bashir hardly set the world on fire in the first three Tests against India before breaking his finger, and also struggled when he came out to Australia for a renaissance mission last summer for England A.
Australian park cricketers are certainly stunned at Bashir’s rise because two and a half years ago he was toiling away for Lindfield in the Sydney shires competition, which is a rung below even grade cricket.
Lyon made it clear he was not bagging Bashir, or left-arm spinner Liam Dawson who came in against India last Test and failed to take a second innings wicket from 47 overs, but he just feels 34-year-old veteran Leach is simply England’s best spinner.
Leach has been phased out by England and hasn’t played a Test since October last year, a snubbing which has stunned Lyon.
“I played with Jimmy Anderson (England great) at Lancashire last year and he basically said they’re (England) picking Bashir to do what I do,” Lyon said at Manly Oval on Thursday at the announcement that Westpac is taking over as Australia’s major sponsor across men’s and women’s cricket.
“I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting what I’ve been able to do in my career.
“Bashir has been OK … Jacob Bethell is playing in this Test match and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling. (There’s also) Liam Dawson.
“But in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner.
“Just his control. I say that off the back of watching county cricket. I’m a cricket nuffy and I keep my eye on pretty well all cricket games and he took six for the other day to win Somerset the fixture (against Durham).
“I’ve spoken to Jack and the times I’ve played against him I feel like his skill set is incredibly strong and I feel like he’s, and this is just my opinion, I know you guys are going to run with it, but it’s my opinion. And that’s nothing against Bashir or Liam Dawson or anything like that. I just feel like Jack Leach is a high class spinner.”
The fact even England’s great finger spinner Graeme Swann struggled in Australia with an average of 52 per Test wicket shows how big a hurdle the spin bowling position is to England’s hopes of ending their 15-year Ashes drought in Australia.
On an ill-fated tour, England tried to make it work with part-timer Moeen Ali and it backfired.
“Yeah it’s a massive role and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said.
“But I’m not going to let the secrets out so they come out here and perform well.
“Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country and that is probably what helped me produce my skillset to where it is at the moment. I’ll keep trying to get better and we’ll see how their spinners go.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Nathan Lyon explains why England are poised to make a crucial tactical error in selection for the Ashes
AFL, cricket told to ‘behave like grown-ups’ as Windy Hill stoush gets ugly
As the fight for access to Windy Hill in October drags on, Cricket Australia has urged the officials involved in the stand-off to “behave like grown-ups”.
England’s injury crisis a warning sign for BBL overhaul
While scheduling looms large as the single biggest hurdle for Cricket Australia to overcome if, as expected, it sells off minority stakes in its Big Bash clubs, England’s current injury dramas have highlighted a possible issue with such a privatisation push.