Originally posted by cataphract
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Let's not compare him to Harbhajan, who is a veteran and who has, in his prime, excelled not just in the subcontinent but in England, Windies and SAfrica as well. It's unfair to Lyon, whose career has only just begun. A more apt comparison would be R Ashwin, who is the same age as Lyon and has played less test cricket than Lyon, and yet has better figures. The most damning figures are the number of ODIs and T20s Lyon has been picked for - 8 ODIs and 19 T20s. He is constantly being passed over for Doherty, O' Keefe, etc.
Here are some averages & strike rates of offies (and Kumble) over the past 30 - 40 years, though most are more recent. Ashley Mallett is Australia's most successful off spinner. Lyon is about half a dozen wickets away from passing his tally in about the same number of tests. Lyon isn't an all time great, but he is, as I pointed out, much better than you are giving him credit for. He concedes runs, but he takes wickets & he takes them at a good strike rate.
Lyon: 34.66; 66.3
Vettori: 34.36; 79.5
Ashwin 28.65; 59.1
Saqlian Mustaq: 29.83; 67.5
Kumble: 29.65; 65.9
Swann: 29.96; 60.9
Tim May: 34.74; 87.6
Singh: 32.37; 68.5
Embury: 38.40; 104.7
Mallett: 29.84; 75.6
Bedi: 28.71; 80.3
All that being said, his performance in Adelaide was stunning, and I only hope that this is a turning point for him and the Australian team. Maybe having Muralitharan as a spin coach is really paying off :)
As for the Australian team, there is a 'turning point' of another type. Steve Smith has been named captain for the remainder of the series. Clarke is not expected to return in a hurry, if at all. I think he will play tests again, but I don't want to see him wasting his last few years playing hit & giggle crap. Smith is our third youngest ever captain. I'm just hoping his batting doesn't suffer.
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