Can Nathan Lyon Delay Return of Spin Circus?

He may have been nominated by Michael Hussey as the new man to lead the team song, but that won’t stop Nathan Lyon from being shafted out of the test team if he fails to perform in upcoming test series in India.

Ironically, before test cricket began this summer, we praised Lyon’s efforts. But his bowling was far too ineffective and lacklustre to warrant a position in the side — the occasional leg spinner from Warner was more exciting and seemed more dangerous.

Now Lyon heads into the spin friendly conditions of India with a heap of pressure on to maintain his spot in the side. Can he bounce back and spare us the pain of having an unstable spinning position for the future?

Now, on the contrary to what many have assumed, I don’t believe Doherty’s selection in the test squad was because they saw him as a potential replacement for Lyon. The selectors said that they will likely wish to use two spinners and this is the only reason Doherty is going along. They actually appear to have a lot of faith in Lyon.

But surely further failure will have Doherty enjoying the benefits of being in the right place at the right time and overtaking Lyon as the first choice spinner.

This will certainly not be a good thing.

Doherty has never performed that well in the longer form of the game. His First Class average of over 44 and Test figures of 3/306 give no indication as to what he did to warrant selection in the eyes of our good friends the selectors. He’s an honest limited overs bowler, that is all.

The problem is clear. If Lyon gets dropped and Doherty comes in, it will be a total waste of time. Xavier will prove to be ineffective yet again and the selectors will go back to the drawing board. It’s unlikely that they will fly another player over during the series, so we’re stuck with these two throughout.

Why do the selectors continually turn a blind eye to performances? To results? They’ve also mentioned a couple of times that they like all-rounders. Steve O’Keefe is averaging 27 with the ball in First Class cricket. He has been consistent over the past few seasons. He also averages 30 with the bat. Gee, what a perfect fit for the ideal second spinner described by the selectors. It makes no sense why he was not picked. Maybe Clarkey doesn’t like him.

The Ashes proceeds the India series. And we will arrive without a spinner. Would the selectors bite the bullet and go with someone untried, albeit deserving in the form of O’Keefe? I doubt it. We would be stuck with, well I don’t know, they would probably recall Lyon.

My summary of all this mess is that Lyon needs to perform. He has to impress and save us from the mess that will ensue if he can’t step up. The selectors are just too stupid to make the right calls if he doesn’t.