Nathan Lyon deserves more respect
 

I can't understand why people bag Lyon so incessantly. Yes, he has his flaws and bowled too flat at times this summer.

But 62 Test wickets at 32 is a good return from a very inexeperienced young off spinner based in a country with unhelpful pitches.

KEEP THIS IN MIND: The best three spinners in world cricket are Ajmal, Herath and Swann.

Ajmal's first 62 wickets cost him 31 apiece.
Herath - 35 apiece.
Swann - 30 apiece.

But the key point is that Lyon is WAY younger than those guys were. He's only 25, whereas they were aged 30+ when they picked up their 62nd Test wicket.

I'm not suggesting that this means he will better, or even as good, as that trio. But those stats should be kept in mind by those who talk of Lyon as though he is the worst tweaker to ever play international cricket.

He may well struggle in India. Hell, even the greatest spinner of all time Shane Warne had a tough time over there. But Lyon is still very young and green has the potential to be a very good Test spinner and could easily end up taking 200+ wickets.

Well the next month will tell us more. Followed by 2 massive series against England. I am waiting to see how he does and what his record is like in 14 tests time.

Lyon isn't the worst, Australia have had many crappier spinners since Warne retired but he is no superstar in my opinion on what I have seen. He may prove me wrong though.

Nathan Hauritz did a good job imo.

No doubt the next 16 Tests (including the 2 Tests in SA in early 2014) will reveal a lot about Lyon.

But at 25 he is very young for a spinner - as I mentioned the three best spinners in world cricket currently didn't come into their own until they were aged 30+.

It should also be noted how difficult it is to be a spinner based in Australia, which is an absolute graveyard for tweakers.

Consider the averages in Australia of the following gun spinners of recent times:

Muralitharan - 75
Kumble - 38
Swann - 40
Harbhajan - 73

I just hope they don't come to a conclusion after India. huge chance of having a rough series there and I am convinced he is our best option against England over there and in Australia.

^^^ Well the last India tour ended Hauritz's career despite the fact that until then he had done a very good job.

That was under the old selection panel though so hopefully Inverarity and co. have learned from that.

He is definitely the best option going forward because unlike Doherty and Beer, he actually loops, dips and rips the ball.

I agree that he is unfairly maligned, has a lot of potential. But those that say he is better than Swann need a boot right up their arse (come at me Burgey!).

India's batting line-up is the weakest it has been since 1999 I reckon. I think its fair enough to expect Lyon to contribute. If he doesn't, he deserves to be called out on it.

he probably gets maligned because he takes a lot of tailend wickets and failed to get the job done on day 5 two times in the space of a month

This is what happens when a bloke gets picked without some serious game time and wickets under his belt at FC level, though. He's 25 but, spin development-wise, he's probably more like 20 and having to learn the tools of the trade at Test level is a bloody tough ask. I mean, people talk about his gun speeds and flat trajectory as if he should have had all this worked out by now but forget he was picked with bugger-all FC cricket under his belt. He debuted in FC cricket in 2011.

Really needed a season or two of winning games regularly for SA but the Test side's obsession with uncovering the next spin bowling genius has forced the situation a bit. He's definitely got the most potential of any spinner in the country but he'll take more time yet.

Who reckons he is better than Swann though?

Yes, Lyon deserves more respect. He's been pretty adequate thus far for Australia.

I do.

careful burgey, reckon the last time you said those words got you into trouble

:lol:

Lol. You don't know how apt the timing of that joke is.