Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon said he doesn’t understand the criticism over the pitch that was used for the Pink-ball Test between India and England in Ahmedabad, saying he is “all in” for surfaces that assist spinners. Lyon said he was up all night watching the Test and enjoyed the spinners dominating the proceedings at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Nathan Lyon was critical of the critics, saying the world “starts crying” only when the pitch offers assistance to spinners but nobody says anything when teams get bowled out cheaply in seaming conditions.
Lyon’s comments come after several former cricketers, especially from England, have been crying foul about the Ahmedabad pitch. Former England captains Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss have been severely critical of the Motera surface even as India and England’s players played down the role of the pitch for the early finish to the Pink-ball Test.
As many as 27 of the 30 wickets that fell went to spinners as the Pink-ball Test ended in less than 2 days, becoming the shortest completed Test since 1935. England were bundled out for 112 and 81 as India went on to clinch a 10-wicket win and seal a 2-1 lead in the 4-Test series at home.
“We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing,” Lyon told AAP.
“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.
“I was up all night watching it. It was absolutely brilliant. I’m thinking about bringing that curator out to the SCG,” he added.
Lyon, who began his career as a curator himself, said he was baffled to see England play 4 seamers on the Ahmedabad pitch. Notably, Joe Root’s men played Jack Leach as their only spinner while India played 3 in R Ashwin, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Captain Root stepped up for England, picking up a 5-wicket haul in the first innings but Ashwin and Axar shared 18 wickets between them over the 2 days of the Test match.
