Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has said playing two spinners would be the ideal way to counter Team India when both the sides vie for the Border-Gavaskar series beginning here from February 22, says a report in Deccan Chronicle.
Speaking after his arrival in Chennai, the off-spinner said, “It will be big challenge for all of us in different conditions. We have seen India playing four spinners in the last Test against England. So hopefully we will have the opportunity to play two spinners.”
Lyon said that the performance of English spinners against M.S.Dhoni and Co. gave enough evidence that spin is the right option to win the series. “I certainly watched (Monty) Panesar and (Graeme) Swann. They bowled quite well. I did watch Swann very, very closely and I hope to take in a few things and put the same method in practice against India,” Lyon said.
Meanwhile a report in The Hindu says that the eight members of the Australian team, who arrived here on Thursday, spent a quiet day here on Friday. “But then, the 25-year-old off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, might already be feeling the weight of expectations. With 61 wickets in 19 Tests at 32.16, he is the leader of the Aussie spin pack. Lyon can be a useful bowler, but does he have the control and the variety to assume a more threatening role that his illustrious predecessors did in India?” says the report adding that Richie Benaud proved the destructive leg-spinner in two victorious Australian campaigns in India.
“In 1956-57, he dismissed 23 batsmen in three Tests at 16.86. Then, in 1959-60, Benaud sent back 29 batsmen in five Tests at 19.58. Warne, who gave the ball more air than Benaud, had his moments of anguish in India but did play a crucial role in Australia’s series triumph in 2004 when he prised out 14 batsmen in three Tests at 30.07. And lanky off-spinner Ashley Mallet — a great believer in subtle changes in length to unsettle batsmen — provided the star turn for the Aussies in the dramatic but eventually fulfilling 1969-70 series in India with 28 strikes in five Tests at 19.10.”
So there is Aussie history for Lyon to seek inspiration from. He seemed to have the right idea as well when he said on arrival, “I personally think that two spinners should play (in the Test XI) in India.”
Lyon also revealed that he had watched Panesar and Swann bowl during the Test series in India. “I did watch Swann very, very closely, and I hope to take a few things from him and put the same methods into practise against India,” he said.