It's a great, great venue to play spinner: Nathan Lyon
Premier Australia spinner Nathan Lyon is confident that all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will bowl in the second Test against India, but added that he would jump at the opportunity to bowl some additional overs if the all-rounder misses out on rolling his arm in Adelaide.
Marsh's fitness has been a major concern for the hosts in the lead up to the pink ball Test, starting Friday. The 33-year-old had felt discomfort after bowling 19.3 overs in the opening Test, which Australia lost by 295 runs at Perth.
Australia have also drafted uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster to their squad as a cover but it seems Marsh will retain his spot in the playing XI.
"I honestly think we'll see Mitch Marsh bowl," Lyon told reporters on Wednesday.
"I'm not concerned about Bison's fitness if I'm being honest. He's been brilliant for us since he's come back in. He came back in that game in Leeds during the Ashes and has really dominated, so got full confidence in Bison. Happy to bowl his overs."
Lyon has been part of an Australian attack that has included either Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, or sometimes both. The off-spinner has also led the bowling charge when the team has opted for four frontline bowlers, relying on part-time overs from the top order.
Even without a genuine all-rounder, Lyon has consistently taken on additional bowling responsibilities, particularly when he is the sole spinner in a four-man attack.
"I'm very clear on my role within the team. Nothing really changes with me…if I can get the opportunity to bowl more overs, I'll jump at it," he said.
The 37-year-old had a quiet outing in the series opener but feels the spinners will have a more dominant role in the second Test.
Lyon has phenomenal success in Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval, having taken 63 wickets at an average of 25.26 from 13 matches, including seven day-night games.
"I think it's a great, great venue to play spinner. And I think what Damien (head curator) does here is he produces a great wicket that got enough in it, and it's challenging for both bat and ball."
"If you are good enough with the bat, your score runs. If you good enough for the ball, you'll hopefully create a few chances along your way. This is probably the best cricket wicket in the world, if I'm being honest with you. So I'm expecting it to be pretty helpful to spin bowling as well."
The hosts had a nightmare of an outing in Perth and thus trail the five-match series 0-1. But Lyon expects Australia to bounce back.
"We've had a chance to reflect and we understand that we didn't play our best period in Perth and India, totally our player played us. But with all the other stuff, it's been quite humorous, in a way, looking at how much has been said and the reactions of so many different people after one loss, the beauty of a five test match test series, is we get the opportunity to turn that around."
That's the challenge of what we face right now, obviously, coming up against a world class India side that played exceptional game of cricket in Perth, but that's been nine days ago now or so."
