Assured Lyon says Test form won't suffer

Nathan Lyon says his latest push to establish himself in one-day cricket won't compromise his status as Australia's premier Test spinner. 

Lyon has been named in a 12-man squad for Australia's opening match of their Qantas Tour of the West Indies on Monday morning (AEST) and if selected will play just his 11th one-day international when the tourists take on the home side at Providence Stadium in Guyana. 

In the five years since Lyon made his Test debut in Sri Lanka, he has developed into one of the first players picked in Australia's Test side and will return to the island nation next month just five short of the 200-wicket milestone. 

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Despite his success at Test level, the off-spinner has been regularly overlooked for white-ball cricket and has played just 11 limited overs matches for his country in more than four years.

The reasons given by national selectors for Lyon's absence in the past have been two-fold; the presence of allrounder Glenn Maxwell in the middle-order means Australia already have an off-spin bowler in the side, and selector Rod Marsh said on last year's tour of England the panel was loathe to risk Lyon in the shorter formats for fear of denting his confidence.

Lyon declined to buy into the debate publically in the United Kingdom last year, but speaking in Guyana's capital Georgetown on Sunday, he said there was no thought in his mind that playing short-form cricket would hurt his performances with the red ball.

"It's definitely not going to damage my bowling," he said.

"I think it's going to help it in different ways. I'm confident in my skill-set to get the job done in any format.

"I'm really happy with the way the ball is coming out.

"It's just about being able to adapt. The best players in the world adapt and that's one of my goals."

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Given the favourable spin conditions expected on this tour, particularly here in Guyana, the series looms as Lyon's best opportunity yet to achieve his publically-stated ambition to entrench himself in Australia's ODI team.

Lyon said he was unperturbed when his most recent chance to prove himself in the coloured clothing was scuppered by a rampant Indian batting line-up on flat surfaces in Canberra and Sydney in January.

He claimed just one wicket and was hit for 134 runs in 18 overs across two ODIs before he bowled just a single over on T20 international debut at the SCG, which went for 15.

It led to rookie leg-spinner Adam Zampa being chosen ahead of Lyon for Australia's one-day series against New Zealand and the ICC World T20 in India, while left-armer Ashton Agar was also added to the World T20 squad. 

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But Lyon says he was willing to cut himself some slack for his performances against India, a series that was dominated by batsmen.

"Those conditions had a fair bit of a say in those games," he said. "You saw how many runs were scored by both teams.

"There weren't too many bowlers having great success out there in the middle.

"It was a great challenge and I learned a lot about where my one-day bowling is at.

" … just reading the game a lot more and being open to communication with the keeper and the captain.

"That's probably one big thing, and being able to understand when to attack and when to sit back and defend."

More importantly, Lyon said his confidence remained intact despite the heavy treatment he copped from India's run-hungry top order.

"You have to (be confident)," he says.

"Backing yourself is crucial and having that self-belief. The bats are bigger these days, we all know we're going to get hit at some stage.

"It's about being able to bounce back and pick yourself up and compete the next ball. 

"So having that belief in yourself, to trust your ability and be confident in your skill set to get the job done (is important)."

 And Lyon will call on all of those attributes when, if his selection is confirmed, he stands at the top of his mark at Providence Stadium on Monday.