‘He’s been okay, but…’: Lyon ramps up Ashes mind games with big Bazball selection claim

Australian veteran Nathan Lyon believes the discarded Jack Leach remains England’s best Test spinner despite missing selection for the ongoing Test series against India.

Leach has taken 142 Test wickets at 34.07 since his international debut in 2018, facing Australia during Ashes campaigns in 2019 and 2021/22, but he missed the blockbuster 2023 series due to a stress fracture in his back.

The injury-prone spinner has only played four Tests across the last two years, with national selectors prioritising Shoaib Bashir in the red-ball format since the start of 2024. The 21-year-old has taken 68 wickets at 39.00 across 19 Tests, including four five-wicket hauls.

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Bashir was ruled out of the final two Tests against India due to a broken finger, with all-rounder Liam Dawson earning a long-awaited recall for last week’s Manchester contest. For the upcoming series finale at The Oval, which gets underway on Thursday, England have dropped Dawson and called up young all-rounder Jacob Bethell.

But Lyon, a self-confessed cricket “nuffie” that has kept a watchful eye on this year’s County Championship, believes that Leach remains England’s best spinner due to his reliability and control. Leach is currently the County Championship’s leading wicket-taker among spinners with 39 scalps at 24.76, while last week he took a six-wicket haul to help Somerset defeat Durham by five wickets in Taunton.

“Bashir’s been okay … but in my eyes Jack Leach is still their best spinner,” Lyon told reporters while speaking at a press conference announcing Cricket Australia’s four-year agreement with Westpac as the organisation’s new principal partner.

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“I say that off the back of watching County cricket. I’m a cricket nuffie, I keep my eye on a lot of cricket games. He recently took a six-fa the other day to win Somerset a fixture.

“The times I’ve played against him, I feel like his skillset is incredibly strong.

“This is just my opinion, that’s nothing against Bashir or Dawson or anyone like that, I just feel like Jack Leach is a high-class spinner.”

Among spinners who have bowled at least 4000 Test deliveries, Bashir’s career economy rate of 3.78 is the highest in history. Averaging 74.78 in the County Championship, the off-spinner isn’t a part of Somerset’s first-choice starting XI, sitting behind Leach in the pecking order and getting loaned to Glamorgan this year.

Lyon also revealed one of England’s greatest Test cricketers disclosed to him last year that Bashir’s surprise national selection occurred because the Ashes rivals wanted to unearth a spinner that could replicate his skillset.

“I played with Jimmy Anderson at Lancashire last year and he basically said that (England) are picking Bashir to do what I do,” Lyon continued.

“I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting what I’ve been able to do throughout my career.”

Touring spinners have struggled on Australian soil this century, including English tweakers Graeme Swann (seven wickets at 80.00 in 2013/14), Moeen Ali (five wickets at 115.00 in 2017/18) and Leach (six wickets at 53.50 in 2021/22).

While travelling spinners have averaged 54 in Australia across the last 25 years, Lyon has taken 268 wickets at 31.08 – but the 37-year-old isn’t willing to share his secrets ahead of this summer’s blockbuster Ashes campaign.

“It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon explained.

“But I’m not going to let my secrets out.

“Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country, and that’s what has helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment.

“We’ll see how (England’s) spinners go.”

The fifth and final Test between England and India gets underway at The Oval on Thursday at 8pm AEST.