Australia cricketer Nathan Lyon believes that Jack Leach is still England’s best spinner in Tests and that the tweakers will play a key role in the Ashes series set to be played in November later this year.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney on Thursday, Lyon said that England’s spin bowling stocks are low with Shoaib Bashir nursing an injury, and Liam Dawson and Reham Ahmed being in and out of the set up.
“I obviously played with Jimmy Anderson last year at Lancashire, and he basically said that they’re picking Bashir to do what I do,” Lyon said.
“So, I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting a little bit of what I’ve been able to do in my career. But Bashir has been OK,” the off spinner said.
England is currently playing its fifth Test against India at The Oval with Joe Root and Jacob Bethell set to share the spin bowling duties. England played Dawson in the fourth Test while Bashir was part of the first three games before getting injured.
“Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match, and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson. But in my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner.”
Lyon has hinted that spin could decide the fate of the series in Australia.
“It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said.
“But I’m not going to let my secrets out, so they come out and perform well out here. Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country. That’s probably what helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment. I know I’ll keep trying to get better, and we’ll see how their spinners go.”