The ‘weird compliment’ that spurred Lyon

Nathan Lyon's mastery of Asian conditions was on full display on the opening day of Australia's UAE tour, revealing how a "weird compliment" from Younis Khan helped put him on the path to solving his subcontinental riddle. 

Surprisingly, Lyon's 5-87 from a marathon 36-over day was the first time he's taken a first-class five-wicket haul outside of a Test match.

The off-spinner joked it's because the likes of Mitchell Starc, whom he labelled "the mop" for his ability to clean up the tail, never give him the chance to bowl at the lower-order.

Lyon had no trouble wrangling the specialist batsmen out on Saturday.

In sweltering Dubai heat, Lyon cut a swathe through Pakistan A, removing five of their top seven to leave them 6-247 at stumps at the ICC Academy.

"I'm definitely confident, the ball is coming out of my hand beautifully at the moment," he said.

Scorecard: Pakistan A v Australians

It was Lyon's sixth five-wicket haul from his past six first-class games in Asia, a far cry from his horror trip to this part of the world four years ago.

Having earlier in 2014 been crowned the world's best Test team, the Aussies came crashing back down to earth in a 0-2 series sweep to Pakistan. Lyon took three wickets at 141.

On that tour, Misabh-ul-Haq and Younis Khan ruthlessly attacked Lyon, who watched as perfectly good deliveries were effortlessly dealt with by two veterans adept at the sweep shot.

"I've had four years, I've had plenty of time to think about it," Lyon reflected.

"I had a good chat to Younis Khan after that series and he said, 'The only reason I sweep is because I don't trust my defence and I'm sweeping your best ball'.

Image Id: 1131D28BF8DE4BCE87B6645820D1FFA1 Image Caption: Lyon and Younis during a 2014 Test in Abu Dhabi // Getty

"When you're getting swept, the best ball that you bowl (as opposed to a bad one) is getting swept.

"I find it a little bit of a weird compliment that you're bowling quite well but you keep getting swept. It can be annoying."

As India and Bangladesh found out last year as he snared 41 wickets in six Tests against them on their home decks, the 30-year-old is now a vastly improved prospect on the subcontinent.

"If these guys want to sweep, I know I'm a different bowler from four years ago," Lyon continued. "I know I'm a lot more confident than what I was four years ago as well.

"The experience I've had in the last couple of Asian tours, hopefully that'll put me in good stead. I know we've spoken about it as spinners, there's no point hiding - I'm expecting them to come out and sweep.

"It's going to be a good challenge."

As he did before last year's tour of India where Australia earned a credible 1-2 series defeat, Lyon has studied the ways of spin wizard Ravi Ashwin to prepare for the Pakistan series, while also taking a look back at his bowling in Asia last year.

"I've really worked hard over the last 24 months, a little bit more now on my subcontinent game," said Lyon.

"I've watched a bit more of Ashwin, I've watched a lot of myself in India and Bangladesh just to revisit what I did well over there (and) what I didn't do well … and the areas I can improve on.

"I've got so much to learn about this game. You're forever learning about this game.

"If I can keep doing that, keep challenging myself to get better then it's only going to help Australia win more games of cricket. I just want to get better and batter."

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Sep 29 - Oct 2: Tour match v Pak A, Dubai

Oct 7-11: First Test, Dubai

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi