Lyon doesn’t bowl enough balls in the right areas. He’s not a 4th innings threat. He’s a good bowler with a fair dose of serendipity in the timing of his career.
Paine didn’t help him but he’s had plenty of opportunities to bowl us to victory and failed. The inane goat calls from his colleagues can be a touch repetitive too.
Jazz I think its worth considering that in Ashwin,s career he will have had far more games on spinner,s tracks. Every home test wouldve been suited to him. His average is significantly advantaged.
Thats not to rebut your criticism of Lyon and his 4th innings deficiency.
Just the comparison to Ashwin
Australia is a graveyard for finger spinners, always has been. Any comparison of Lyon to other offies must take this into account.
The goat calls are inane, but he is easily the best offie Australia has produced in my 40-odd years of watching, with Tim May next, followed by a chasm.
Test records in Australia:
Lyon 51 matches, 197 wickets, average 32.71, strike rate 66.2 (that's a better strike rate than Murali's career strike rate of 70)
Ashwin 10 matches, 39 wickets, average 42.15, strike rate 86.2
Murali 5 matches, 12 wickets, average 75.41, strike rate 131.0
Harbhajan 4 matches, 9 wickets, average 73.22, strike rate 126.0
Vettori 12 matches, 37 wickets, average 40.18, strike rate 83.8 (left-armer, which Aussies traditionally struggle against)
Emburey 10 matches, 35 wickets, average 32.11, strike rate 98.8 (note: his Australian Tests were half against the weak non-WSC team of 1978/9, and half against Border's nadir side of 1986/7)
Laker (arguably the GOAT offie, took 19 wickets in a single Test once, averaged 21 with a strike rate of 62) 4 matches, 15 wickets, average 21.2, strike rate 68.1.
Gibbs 14 matches, 59 wickets, average 33.38, strike rate 97.2.
Tim May 13 matches, 30 wickets, average 40.03, strike rate 101.6
Peter Taylor 9 matches, 18 wickets (6 of them in the first innings he bowled in), average 41.33, strike rate 86.0
Greg Matthews 20 matches, 28 wickets, average 60.10, strike rate 130.5.
(WARNE 69 matches, 319 wickets, average 26.39, strike rate 60.8.)
So compared to Shane Warne, it takes Lyon one extra over - that goes for six runs - to take a Test wicket in Australia.
Modern spinners of all types suffer higher averages and economy rates because so many shots that would formerly be caught in the deep are now sixes.