Thinking about bringing Ahmedabad curator to the SCG: Nathan Lyon

Tags: Australia, India, pitch, Nathan Michael Lyon

Published on: Mar 01, 2021

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has backed Indian counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin over the ongoing controversy related to the pitch in Ahmedabad. There has been a raging debate over the nature of the surface after the India-England pink-ball Test ended in under two days, with spinners from both sides running riot. A number of former England cricketers including Michael Vaughan and Monty Panesar have hit out at India over the pitch prepared for the third Test.

Lyon, however, cannot understand what the fuss is all about. He was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press, "We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing (about the pitch). But as soon as it starts spinning, everyone in the world seems to start crying about it. I don't get it. I'm all for it, it was entertaining."

The 33-year-old added that, after watching the match , he is thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG. Lyon added, "It was absolutely brilliant. I'm thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground)."

The experienced off-spinner also expressed surprise at England’s decision to go in with just one specialist spinner in Jack Leach. England skipper and part-time off-spinner Joe Root went on to claim a five-for in India’s first innings. According to Lyon, "The best thing about this Test match that just passed is that England went in with four seamers.That will do me. I don't need to say any more."

Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked up his 400th wicket during the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad Test, had also slammed the pitch critics. Ashwin had questioned, "What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day, then bat well, then spin on the last two days? Come on, who makes all these rules? We need to get over it.”

Responding to a journo, he added, "If you are asking if it is a good Test surface, I don't see any of the players coming from England having an issue with the surface. They want to improve, they look like they want to have a contest. Is it the players and the people who are reporting back that want their players to not complete and complain about the pitches? Because we have never done that on any of the tours.”

The fourth India-England Test will be held in Ahmedabad from March 4

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