Under-fire quicks get Lyon's backing

Nathan Lyon has defended Australia's under-siege seam attack and says the group's chastening experiences on this Qantas Tour of the UK will eventually hold them in good stead.

The Australians have copped a battering from the world's No.1 ODI team, which has rushed to a 4-0 series lead and on Sunday at Old Trafford will target a first-ever 5-0 whitewash of Australia.

Not least at Trent Bridge in the third ODI where Australia conceded a world record 481 in a 50-over exhibition of brutal hitting.

It could so easily have been a score of 500 or more and England's sustained battery left 47-year-old coach Justin Langer - who was in Johannesburg in 2006 when South Africa famously chased down Australia's 434 - saying he'd never seen anything like it.

Australia's most experienced current Test cricketer, Lyon watched on from the sidelines as a substitute fielder, running drinks, offering words of encouragement and trying to help settle racing pulses and frayed nerves of his teammates.

"I think it's been a great learning curve and opportunity for all the bowlers," Lyon said in Manchester.

"It's been great for them to learn to perform under pressure because playing in a World Cup – what I want to do, what everyone else in this squad wants to do – that's what you're going to come up against, being under pressure.

"To compete and perform under pressure, that's the biggest thing."

Pressure is something fast becoming familiar to the young and inexperienced line-up Australia has available in this series.

While Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are all sidelined, the likes of Billy Stanlake (five games), Andrew Tye (seven) and Richardsons Kane (17) and Jhye (four) have suffered at the hands of an aggressive England line-up in some red-hot form.

Ashton Agar has played eight ODIs and Lyon himself, with 78 Tests and 306 Test wickets to his name, played only his 14th ODI at Durham.

England smashed 21 sixes in the Trent Bridge carnage and, after the fourth match in Durham, Aaron Finch lamented the bowlers were repeating the same mistakes with line and length.

Lyon said learning to maintain composure under such circumstances was something every bowler needed to learn at some point.

"It doesn't come naturally. You probably have to go through something to then understand how to get through it," Lyon said.

"I've got a blueprint I go back to when batters start coming back at me or if I feel under pressure and that will calm my nerves down and really just focus me back on what my skill is."

Lyon says he's been trying to help accelerate the learning in a mentoring capacity for the young attack in the line of fire.

"It's something that I've been sharing," he said. "If I can hopefully share my experiences, that can help turn their learning around quicker.

"I've been able to sit down with Ashton and Travis (Head) and D'Arcy Short and Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) and just talk about spin bowling.

"It probably has been a big mentoring role in that side of things. I've enjoyed doing that part of it, and I feel like it helps my game as well, talking about spin bowling."

Qantas tours of the UK and Zimbabwe

Australia ODI squad: Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Craig Overton, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Mark Wood

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey

Qantas Tour of the UK

June 7: Australia beat Sussex by 57 runs at Hove

June 9: Australia beat Middlesex by 101 runs at Lord's

June 13: England won by three wickets at The Oval

June 16: England won by 38 runs in Cardiff

June 19: England won by 242 runs at Trent Bridge

June 21: England won by six wickets in Durham

June 24: Fifth ODI, Old Trafford

June 27: Only T20, Edgbaston (D/N)

Qantas T20I tri-series Tour of Zimbabwe

July 1: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 8: Final