For the forthcoming India trip, where they will play four Test matches, former Australia coach Darren Lehmann thinks he will favor Ashton Agar as the second spinner. Lehmann believes Agar can have an influence similar to how Steve O’Keefe did on their tour in 2017, even though Nathan Lyon is slated to be the spin-bowling attack’s leader. In the rank-turning Pune Test, which Australia won thanks in large part to the left-arm spinner’s 12 wickets, Australia defeated India.
When Lehmann was the team’s head coach, he believed finger spinners would perform better in India on surfaces that encouraged spin. There are two other spinners in the 18-member team that will tour India: Todd Murphy and Mitchell Swepson. “Having been there, I’m probably more inclined to play finger spinners. It just gets through the air quicker and some spin and some don’t. The leg spinners sometimes spin it too much, if that makes sense… (finger spinners) some skid on, and you get beaten on the inside and you get an LBW.
“That’s probably why they’re looking at a finger spinner. We certainly did that four years ago (2017) and Steve O’Keefe bowled India out basically on his own in one of the last Test matches to win there. That’s why I’d be looking at someone like Agar, bat a little bit, bowl as that second spinner,” Lehmann said while speaking to Australia radio station SENQ.
Australia has already essentially secured their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) championship game, while India needs to win the series by a minimum of 2-0 or 2-1 in order to go to the summit match. Australia can secure their spot in the championship game by avoiding a 4-0 tour-wide rout. Returning to Lehmann, he notes that there are many spin alternatives in the team and is pleased that the Australians have announced 18 players in the squads. He believed that Swepson’s participation would be crucial since the leggies are true wicket-takers and that he might play if the circumstances were right.
“I can’t believe there was talk of him (Swepson) not going, talk about the balance of the side, if you get to pick 18 players, you want a pretty balanced squad. Most of the time we only take 15 (players) over there. They’ve got the extra spinners, there are plenty of options, and there’s no tour game, so they’ll work out the best option to win over there I’m sure. “It does look like a pretty good squad. If it suits to play the leg-spinner as the second spinner, then good on him,” the former Australia coach added.
