Lyon sees similarity to UAE in Rawalpindi pitch

After weeks of fevered speculation as to whether the Rawalpindi pitch would offer Perth-like pace or sub continental spin, Nathan Lyon's considered assessment likens it to surfaces seen in the UAE where Australia has gone winless in their past two visits.

The Australia squad undertook their inaugural training session at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium yesterday where they were greeted by a flat, grassless track that sported its share of small cracks three days out from the start of play on the Qantas Tour of Pakistan on Friday.

It prompted close examination by members of both teams – who trained side by side yesterday – with the tourists especially keen to glean clues as to how the pitch might play given Australian have not contested a Test match in Pakistan since 1998.

During the intervening 24 years, Pakistan have hosted Australia in 'home' Tests in the UK, Sri Lanka and the Emirates with the past two of those series taking place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi where Pakistan recorded three hefty wins with Australia doggedly salvaging one draw.

Having trained in practice nets just metres from their rivals and from the Test strip on Rawalpindi's central wicket block yesterday, Lyon noted there was little spin on offer for himself or fellow specialist tweakers Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson.

And as a former curator who helped prepare pitches at Adelaide Oval before progressing to a career as a professional cricketer in 2010, Lyon's trained eye foreshadowed the Test track will likely replicate conditions in the UAE where big first innings totals are often followed by the dominance of spin.

From the 37 Tests played in the UAE since 2002, the five leading wicket takers are all spinners with Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath the only non-Pakistan player in that cohort alongside Yasir Shah, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar and Abdur Rehman.

"We're actually training about three pitches over on the centre wicket (block) and it wasn't spinning that much," Lyon told reporters from Rawalpindi ahead of Australia's second training session today.

"I know we've got a little bit more grass on the wicket we're training on compared to what looks like the match wicket.

"The (Test) surface looks similar to a UAE wicket at the moment.

"There's not much grass on it, I daresay it's going to be pretty shiny come day one.

"So I'm expecting it to be pretty nice to bat on for the first couple of days then look for it to hopefully spin, and reverse swing may come into it.

"It's not the type of wicket that I'd probably produce if I was still doing my curating stuff, but those days are long gone."

Lyon claimed national selection panel chair George Bailey, interim men's team coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins faced "an interesting conversation" in finalising Australia's starting XI for the first of three Tests.

Given Bailey has already indicated Usman Khawaja will retain his place at the top of the order, and only unforeseen events are likely to see changes to the remaining batting roles, the discussion will seemingly focus on the make-up of the bowling line-up.

Specifically, whether Cummins is joined by a couple of fellow quicks from Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, or if conditions dictate inclusion of a second spinner which would see Lyon partnered by either left-arm orthodox Agar or leg-spinner Swepson.

The other alternative is all three spinners are included with Agar filling the all-rounder role currently occupied by seamer Cameron Green, but that would appear unlikely given the pitch gives no outward hint of being a 'raging' turner.

Fawad Ahmed, the former Australia leg-spinner who has joined the squad as a consultant for the month-long Pakistan tour, is yet to formally join the group as he remains in isolation at the team hotel in Islamabad in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.

It is understood Fawad travelled from last weekend's Pakistan Super League final in Lahore on the same flight as Pakistan quick Haris Rauf who has since tested positive to COVID and ruled out of the opening Test at Rawalpindi.

But even without Fawad's local knowledge and expertise to directly draw on at training, Lyon believes uncapped Swepson and Agar – who played the most recent of his four Tests in Bangladesh in 2017 – are ready to slot into the starting XI if needed.

"Both Mitch and Ash are bowling extremely well, and if you look at our top order we've got guys like Marnus (Labuschagne) and Smithy (Steve Smith) and Travis (Head) who can bowl spin as well.

"So we're very lucky in that area, and it's not just this tour we're focused on.

"It's a massive 12 months for the Australian cricket team and we've got a lot of subcontinent tours in Pakistan, Sri Lanka (later this year) and into India (early 2023) as well.

"So there will be a lot of opportunity for not just myself and Sweppo to stand up, but other players as well."

With Test campaigns in three Asian countries over the next 12 months, Lyon looms as potentially Australia's most important bowler given a majority of those matches are expected to be played on spin-friendly surfaces.

The 34-year-old joined elite company when he claimed his 400th Test wicket at the start of this summer's Vodafone Ashes Series against England, and his success has been largely built on his capacity to perform consistently regardless of surrounding conditions.

That's underscored by the remarkable similarities in his home and away record.

In Tests played on familiar pitches in Australia, Lyon's overspin and exaggerated bounce have netted him 216 wickets (from 57 matches) at an average of 32.27, while overseas on tracks as disparate as England and India his 199 scalps (48 matches) have cost 31.26 each.

In 19 sub continental Tests (including the UAE), that record shows 95 wickets at 31.24 which is a superior average to India's Harbhajan Singh (32.02), Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan (32.67) and Sri Lanka's Dilruwan Perera (33.74) with their finger spin in the same conditions.

And his strike rate on surfaces that are supposedly second nature to bowlers who learn their craft in Asia – a wicket every 59 balls in Tests – makes him even more potent than legends the likes of Pakistan pair Saqlain Mushtaq (64 balls) and Ajmal (66).

However, Lyon acknowledges that due to Australia not having played a Test away from home since their 2019 Ashes sojourn to the UK, adapting to whatever conditions await in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore will provide a stern and unfamiliar challenge.

As such, he believes his role will vary between strike weapon and containment option as the series unfolds.

But while Cummins noted prior to the team's departure he expected the three-match campaign to feature some "grinding" contests from which a draw would prove almost as valuable as a win, Lyon is sticking with his habitual pre-series prediction of a clean-sweep.

"We haven't played an away Test since 2019 so it's going to be a big challenge," he said.

"But it's a very young, exciting Australian Test squad we've got here and we're coming off a pretty spectacular summer at home that's given the group a lot of confidence.

"We're working hard, we're training hard and I'm going into this Test series ... to win three-nil, that's purely just my mindset."

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim, Nauman Ali, Naseem Shah, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood. Reserves: Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Haris

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports