Ace off-spinner Nathan Ryan has already started his homework on rising batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal, while England spinner Tom Hartley has the southpaw’s knowledge safely stored away ahead of the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia starting on November 22. Jaiswal, who scored a century on debut for West Indies last year, scored an astonishing 712 runs in the five-Test series against England at home earlier this year. But the pace and bounce on Australian tracks will present a different challenge for the Mumbaikar.
ESPNCricinfo reported that Leon said: “I haven’t met him (Jaiswal) yet, but it will be a huge challenge for all our bowlers.”
“I watched (Jaiswal) very carefully the way he played against England and I thought it was absolutely amazing.
“I had a really good chat with Tom Hartley (England’s left-arm spinner) about the different ways he approaches different people, which was really interesting.”
Lyon had a brief spell with Lancashire in England and had the opportunity to share information with Hartley, who took 20 wickets in four Test matches against India, and he knows first-hand what Jaiswal is capable of.
The 36-year-old Lyon, who has taken 530 wickets in 129 Tests, believes Australia have the best chance of completing their “unfinished business” against India because there is “so much information being circulated”.
“I love talking about cricket, so if I can talk to someone who has played Test cricket, maybe I can find out something I don’t know. There is so much knowledge floating around in the game that we can always draw on.”
After a 2-0 win at Border-Gavaskar in 2014-15, Australia lost all their next four games against India: two against Virat Kohli’s side (2016-17, 2018-19), two against Ajinkya Rahane (2021) and two against Rohit Sharma (2023).
“If the plan we talked about comes to fruition, I think it will.”
Josh Hazlewood is another player who survived the 2014-15 series alongside Lyon and admits the recent result against India has left a huge hole in Australia’s record.
“It’s been unfinished business for 10 years and it’s taken a long time. I know there’s a strong desire to change things, especially at home,” Lyon said.
“Make no mistake, India are an absolute superstar team and it will be a huge challenge but I am desperate to turn things around and get the trophy back,” he said.
Lyon believes this Australia team, led by Pat Cummins, is a little different compared to Tim Paine’s side, who lost back-to-back games at home to India.
“I think we are a different team to a few years ago. We are on a journey to become a great Australian cricket team. We are definitely not there but we are on that journey and have played some decent cricket,” Hazlewood said, adding that beating India in the Test series would be a tick mark on many players’ CVs.
“There are quite a few players who have never beaten India in a Test series. It’s really surprising to hear them say that,” he said.
“That’s one of the things we have to do, especially at home. We have to win every series at home.
“In the last series we won by 36 points in Adelaide and now we thought we could come back home and feel confident in this stadium.
“People say we played against India B in the last Test, but they can be stronger than the best teams at times. They have incredible depth in all formats and we are starting to see that now,” he added.
Hazelwood said while reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is the top priority, Australia are also keeping an eye on the World Test Championship points table.
“We always sit in the background and put the table up so we can see where we are sitting and what we need to check,” he said.
“It’s a huge deal for me, because I missed the last competition in England. It’s really heartbreaking.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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