Sydney, Sep 20: Coach Micky Arthur has backed spinner Nathan Lyon to improve further and cement his position as the Australian team’s number one Test spinner.
The faith in Lyon is a refreshing contrast to the chopping and changing that resulted in Australia going through ten spinners in three years following leg spinner Shane Warne''s retirement in 2007.
Brad Hogg and Xavier Doherty were preferred in the World Twenty20 squad, which began its campaign in Colombo against Ireland last night, leaving the 24-year-old Lyon to continue developing his off-spin for the longer formats.
Lyon thrived on his maiden Test tour of Sri Lanka a year ago, but Arthur said it was impossible to ignore veteran spinner Brad Hogg''s irrepressible Twenty20 form in the run-up to the World Cup in Sri Lanka.
“''''I wouldn''t be honest if I didn''t say that had it not been a World Cup, we probably wouldn''t have looked at getting Brad back, but because it''s an ICC event, a massive event, and Brad is clearly one of the two best T20 spinners in the country, he deserved a look-in,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Arthur, as saying.
“The feedback on Nathan [from the Australia A tour of England] was he was OK. Of the 23 first-class games, I think 13 are Test matches, so he is still learning his game. I think he was good without being brilliant by his own admission, and that''s fine, because we just want to see him growing and getting better,” he added.
© ANI
