Nathan Lyon has expressed his availability for the ongoing World Cup in India in case Australia require his services over the course of the tournament.
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Lyon, who was injured during the second Test of the 2023 Ashes a few months back, is on the road to recovery and has said that he would be ready to fly to India for the World Cup in case Australia needed more spin-bowling options mid-way through the tournament.
Lyon suffered a serious calf strain while fielding during the second Test at Lord’s that forced him to miss the rest of the Ashes. However, he is now preparing to make a comeback to competitive cricket. Next week he’ll be seen in action in grade cricket, followed by a return to domestic cricket through the Marsh Cup where he is expected to play for New South Wales against South Australia on October 20.
Australia’s World Cup squad contains only one frontline spinner, Adam Zampa. Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was named in the preliminary squad but was subsequently replaced by Marnus Labuschagne in the final 15. Glenn Maxwell is the second spin option Australia have. While he bowls often in white-ball cricket, Maxwell is in the squad primarily for his batting skills.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Lyon said that he texted Australia coach Andrew McDonald that he would be available for selection when he heard that Agar was to be replaced in the squad. “I sent Andrew McDonald a text message the other day when I saw Ashton Agar was ruled out. I said, ‘just to let you know, I’m back bowling 10 overs, I’m right to go, 100 percent’. If that happened I’d do anything to go over and play the World Cup,” Lyon said.
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Lyon can now only be added to Australia’s squad as an injury replacement. “I’d be more than comfortable going in there and doing it if I had to. But in saying that there has to be a lot of things go wrong, so let’s hope for Australia’s sake that doesn’t happen,” said Lyon.
“Hopefully, they go out there and have a really good campaign and make sure they go over there to achieve what they’ve gone over there to do.”
Australia have a few other part-time spinners in their World Cup squad, including Labuschagne, Steve Smith, and Travis Head. Head, however, is injured currently and will only be available half-way into the tournament. Labuschagne and Smith don’t bowl as much, leaving Australia with Zampa and Maxwell as the two main spin options.
Maxwell played a significant role with the ball in Australia’s first game at the World Cup against India. Along with Zampa, Maxwell bowled eight overs and turned out to be the more economical of the two, going for just 33 runs compared to Zampa’s 53.
Lyon was part of Australia’s squad in the 2019 World Cup where he played four games and picked three wickets at an average of 60.3.
