Ashes 2017/18: Australia’s Back Up Spinners Return to Action After Recovering From Injuries
Nov 29, 2017 at 3:05 PM
Nathan Lyon is currently in the best form of his career, as he had spun his web around opposition batsmen from around the world at home as well as on away tours.
In the first Ashes Test at Gabba in Brisbane which the Australians won, Lyon bowled a subtle line and length and kept the English batsmen at bay, picking up five wickets in Australia’s ten-wicket win.
His performance has been exceptional throughout the year. The Aussies toured India and Bangladesh early this year and had been the most successful off-spinner this year. Lyon has already picked up 48 Test wickets in 2017 at an average of 22 runs per wicket, whereas, on the other hand, Ashwin has picked up 48 wickets in two matches more than Lyon (8) has played this year.
Lyon has been the most successful bowler in Asia this year, as he has picked up five five-wicket hauls, ahead of Jadeja and Rangana Herath who have three five-wicket hauls, Ashwin, O’Keefe and Shakib Al Hasan have two each.
Talking of Stephen O’Keefe, the left arm spinner has been Nathan Lyon’s spin partner whenever the Aussies have opted for two spin bowlers in recent times. The only exception was in Bangladesh when O’Keefe was injured, and Ashton Agar played in his absence. O’Keefe returned to action for New South Wales against Victoria and picked up three wickets against the Bushrangers which included the wicket of double-century maker Glenn Maxwell. In the same match, Jon Holland too made a comeback for Bushrangers and went on to pick up seven wickets in the match including a five wicket haul in the first innings.
Recently, however, Lyon has been short of back up in the spin department, as the country’s top three contenders in the spin department were injured. There return to competitive cricket has now given the ‘GOAT’ a sigh of relief. O’Keefe, Agar and Jon Holland returned to competitive cricket last week, and the selectors have kept an eye on their performances.
With so much healthy competition in the spin department, O’Keefe said,
“I think it’s refreshing to see a lot of (spin) guys bowling well, Jon is bowling probably as well as he’s ever bowled and deserved his five-for. “I think there’s a lot of guys probably in contention if there is a second spot, But at the moment the way that ‘Gazza’ (Lyon) is bowling he’s doing the work for two spinners on his own, isn’t he, he’s bowling that well. It’s just a nice problem to have if selectors have to go and choose.”
Also Read: (Ashes 2017/18, Adelaide Test: England’s Predicted XI for the Day-Night Test)
(The Ashes 2017-18: Usman Khawaja not bothered about spin dismissal)