Published: Sep 02, 2015, 04:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 03, 2015, 10:46 AM (IST)
Any One-Day International (ODI) series cannot fix the damage caused after the Ashes 2015 defeat; however by winning the next five games in the coloured clothing, the Australians can definitely end their long tour of England on a positive note. With the Australian side undergoing a transition after the retirements of Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin from the shorter format, new skipper Steven Smith will face hassles initially as the team given to him is inexperienced. The current Australian team does not average more than 26 in terms of age. While the batting line-up still constitutes of experience that comes along in form of David Warner, Shane Watson and Smith, it is the bowling attack that will take a while to prove them. And during these tough times, the Australian selectors chose to exclude Nathan Lyon from the ODI series against England. Sakshi Gupta explains why the visitors will miss Lyon’s services in the upcoming series. READ: England vs Australia 2015, 1st ODI at Southampton Preview
Lyon, who is now Australia’s best ever off–spinner in Tests with 162 wickets from 46 games, has always battled with the selectors for a place in the ODI squad. A cricketer with heaps of talents and who has justified all of it in the whites has repeatedly been ignored in the 50-over format, which is why after making his debut in 2012, Lyon has just eight ODI caps to his name. It is beyond understanding when a bowler continues to perform in Test cricket, but does not get a chance in the other formats.
“He’s bowling that well in Test match cricket it almost seems a shame for him to perhaps lose any of that by perhaps copping a hiding every now and then in one-day cricket,” Rod Marsh had commented while announcing the 15-man squad for ODIs against England. Perhaps, he has forgotten what the potential that Lyon holds to deliver every time when his team wants him to. The upcoming ODI series against England calls for a well-balanced team that can take Australia to a much-needed victory. The current side’s inexperience is heavier than it should actually be. While Nathan Coulter-Nile has a handful of international caps to his name, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar and Joe Burns are all the new entrants. It is not the time to experiment, with a loss in the only Twenty20 international as well, as Australia desperately wants a series win in the ODIs.
The last time Lyon appeared in the yellow jersey was when Australia toured UAE to face Pakistan in the Tests and ODIs in 2014. After performing decent in the first two games, picking up 2 for 33 and 1 for 40, the spinner was rested for the final match: little did he know that he has a very long wait ahead of him to get the selectors’ nod again for a 50-over game. READ: David Warner, Steven Smith’s consistency across all formats is a benchmark, says Glenn Maxwell
In Lyon’s absence in the last game, Maxwell bowled Australia to a sensational final over victory against Pakistan and all of a sudden, the former saw his ODI future in danger. Even he had a little hope left of making an ODI comeback soon, his axing from the team that faced South Africa at home later in the year gave him a clear picture of the selectors’ intention.
The 27-year-old was the highest wicket-taker in the Border Gavaskar 2014-15 series with 23 scalps from four matches. Sadly, even that performance was not good enough for his inclusion in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 squad. Instead CA chose Xavier Doherty ahead of him: “I should have learnt their preferences when Xavier Doherty was selected ahead of me for the World Cup,” Lyon said. Fielding restrictions was the reason behind the board not selecting him for the big event; however, despite the restrictions being removed Lyon wasn’t good enough to be a part of the World Cup squad.
The one-off T20I exposed the lack of quality in Australia’s death bowling which eventually let England put on a massive total of 182. And a batting collapse following the dismissal of Smith led the visitors to yet another loss on the ongoing tour. Lyon’s inclusion will bring in stability, well support to the fast bowlers and the experience to handle situations under pressure. His 16 wickets from five matches in the recently-concluded Ashes was a demonstration for him having a good touch on the English tracks. So, Lyon does deserve one chance to prove his capabilities in the shorter format. READ: Steve Waugh backs Ricky Ponting’s no toss in Tests idea
(Sakshi Gupta, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a sports fanatic whose mantra in life is “do only what you enjoy.” Her Twitter handle is @sakshi2929)
