Come after me, Lyon urges England

Nathan Lyon has challenged England’s batsmen to come after him in the second Magellan Ashes Test that begins in Adelaide on Saturday after the tourists were told they can’t allow the off-spinner to dictate terms as was the case in the series opener in Brisbane.

Despite the Gabba’s reputation as a seamer’s pitch in the first day or two of a Test, Lyon was Australia’s most economical bowler in England’s first innings when he sent down 36 overs and returned figures of 2-78.

The lack of scoring intent that England’s top-order showed against their rival off-spinner, who was destined to bowl long spells given Australia had entered the Test with only four specialist bowlers (and three of those being genuine quicks), prompted stinging criticism from ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen.

It was during England’s first innings that Pietersen, working as a commentator for Channel Nine, noted that England couldn’t afford to allow Lyon to get away with an economy rate of around two runs per over when they were also struggling to score against the Australia seamers.

The former big-hitting batter indicated that England needed to be more attacking against Australia’s sole spinner, which in turn would force captain Steve Smith to turn to his pace bowlers to slow the scoring which would further add to their considerable workload.

It’s a ploy well known to Lyon who was part of the Australia outfit that took the same blueprint into the previous Ashes series in Australia four years ago, when his teammates actively targeted England’s front line off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Having seen how Swann could tie down rival batting line-ups which allowed the England quicks to operate in short spells from the other end, the Australians went after the spinner at the earliest opportunity and prevented him from settling into a comfortable rhythm.

As a result, Swann – England’s most successful off-spinner with 255 Test wickets – claimed just seven wickets at an average of 80 each in the first three Tests of Australia’s 5-0 whitewash in 2013-14, and retired from Test cricket midway through the series citing a chronic elbow injury.

But should England heed Pietersen’s advice in the wake of their 10-wicket loss to Australia in the series opener and look to go after Lyon to exert pressure on him as well as the other members of the bowling attack, the 30-year-old will be waiting.

And rubbing his spinning fingers in anticipation, he claims.

“If they did that (attack his bowling) it definitely plays into my hands,” Lyon told reporters in Adelaide where the second Magellan Ashes Test begins on Saturday.

“I like it when opposition guys try to attack me and try to whack me out of the attack.

“If you’re talking about batting against a spin bowler, it’s part of the game - you’ve got to take wickets and you’ve got to score runs.

“There’s no doubt England will come prepared and will have a different plan compared to what they did in the first Test.”

Lyon, who famously worked as a member of the Adelaide Oval ground staff prior to forging a path into international cricket, believes the pitch at his former home ground – hosting the historic first day-night Ashes Test – will prove as responsive to spin as was the Gabba last week.

Which he rated as the most spin-friendly Brisbane Test pitch he’s encountered since he debuted at the elite level in 2011.

“Damian Hough (Adelaide Oval curator) is one of the best curators in the world,” Lyon said today.

“I had a brief look at it (the Test pitch) just then and it looks pretty exciting. 

“It's a very good wicket, I have never seen a bad one here if I'm being brutally honest,

“It will spin and bounce, which is always good.

“I know this will spin probably very similar to the Gabba, and I’ve never seen the Gabba spin as much as that did for the whole game (last week).

“I was pretty excited about that, and I know how to bowl out here.”

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21