David Warner had a horrible outing during the Ashes campaign this year as he managed just 95 runs at an average of 9.5 from five games. But his teammate and leg-spinner Nathan Lyon feels the Australia opener will come out all gun blazing in the two-Test series against Pakistan, starting here on Thursday. Warner became a victim of England pacer Stuart Broad seven times in Ashes this year.
“Dave is a world-class player. I’m expecting him to come out here and play exceptionally well,” Lyon told reporters on Saturday.
“No doubt, he would have been down and disappointed about the Ashes that he had. But he was still part of the side to go over there and retain the Ashes, which is pretty bloody special, if you ask me,” he added.
Lyon also reckoned the Aussie opener has learnt from the experience in Ashes.
“I know when I’m bowling to someone who I’ve got the wood over, it can play on their mind. So no doubt, Davey would have felt the pressure. But it’s one of those things where you need to accept the challenge and move on and try to get better,” he expressed.
The series between Australia and Pakistan is likely to be a battle between the pace attack of both the sides as the hosts boasts of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood in their arsenal while the Green Brigade have Naseem Shah, 19-year-old Shaheen Afridi and Muhammad Musa and the impressive Muhammad Abbas.
However, Lyon felt as a spinner, he could to play a crucial role after picking 33 wickets at an average of 27.7 at the ground.
“For the last eight or nine years I’ve been playing Test cricket here, everyone’s been talking about playing four quicks every time I come here,” Lyon said.
“I love playing cricket here. I think it’s a good contest between bat and ball. Personally, I find I get a fair amount of bounce and a bit of spin over the last couple of years as well,” he added.
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