The only thing I wanted was to win: Usman Khawaja
On the final morning, Khawaja led the Australian team onto the field on Day 5 as his teammates instinctively held back, allowing him to take in the occasion.
Australia’s veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon believes spin will play a key role in determining the outcome of this year’s Ashes series, and expressed his concerns over England’s depleted spin-bowling resources ahead of the much-anticipated contest, which begins on November 21 in Perth.
England’s spin stocks appear worryingly thin, with first-choice spinner Shoaib Bashir ruled out through injury and other options like Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed overlooked. As a result, England entered the final ICC World Test Championship (WTC) fixture against India at The Oval without a specialist spinner. Part-timers Joe Root and Jacob Bethell are now shouldering spin responsibilities, an arrangement Lyon feels may not hold up come the Ashes.
Advertisement
Lyon, who offered his insights into England’s current situation, believes they may need to reassess their plans before the opening Test of the Ashes on home soil. The 36-year-old pointed to a lack of depth in England’s spin department and backed left-arm spinner Jack Leach, out of Test action since October 2023, as their best bet.
Advertisement
“I obviously played with Jimmy Anderson last year at Lancashire, and he basically said that they’re picking Bashir to do what I do. So I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting a little bit of what I’ve been able to do in my career. But Bashir has been OK,” Lyon said.
“Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match (at The Oval against India), and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson. But in my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner.”
While offering his thoughts on England’s spin conundrum, Lyon is also dealing with selection concerns of his own. He was left out of Australia’s XI for their most recent Test against the West Indies in Jamaica, where the team opted for a full pace attack and cruised to a 176-run win in the day-night encounter at Sabina Park.
Despite missing out on that Test, Lyon expects very different conditions when the Ashes kick off in Australia later this year.
“It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said.
“But I’m not going to let my secrets out so they come out and perform well out here. Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country. That’s probably what helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment. I know I’ll keep trying getting better, and we’ll see how their spinners go,” he added.
Advertisement
