Nathan Lyon eager to get the pink ball in hand

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is eagerly waiting to bowl with the pink ball in the first-ever day/night Test match which starts on next Friday. Lyon was initially not very pleased with the decision of pink balls being used in cricket and had his own reservations about the oldest format of the game, the test matches. Lyon describes himself as a traditionalist who doesn’t like to mess with Test cricket but said next week’s historic match was exciting, especially with first two days of the Test match being sold out. But now that everything has been decided, he is quite excited about getting the pink ball turn the same way.

“I’m a big one not to mess around with Test cricket but it’s going ahead. It’s exciting times and I think it’s already been sold out for day one and day two,” he said.

Lyon, who made his Test debut in 2011, feels that the color of the ball will have no impact on the way he will bowl and needs no special preparations for the same. Earlier many cricketers including Aussie skipper Steve Smith had shown his concerns about the durability and visibility of pink balls and even said that pink balls were hardly any pink after 20 odd overs.

“It’s no different to me playing red ball, pink ball or white ball. I’m not going to change my plan. It’s just about getting out there and executing and being consistent.”

Coach Darren Lehmann is wondering whether to play two spinners in a home Test for the first time in a decade and Lyon too said he and O’Keefe would not disappoint if paired together. “(It’s) perfect, batters can’t see the seam,” the off-spinner quoted.

However, he maintained his silence on whether the day-night Test matches are there to say. He said he would leave that call to be made once he experiences a game like that. Well, that is fair enough we would agree.

About the other spinner in contention, Lyon said that it would be great if both the spinners get the nod for the game. He said, “It’s good to see Steve O’Keefe get the nod there and it’s up to the captain and selectors to see what we go for. I’m pretty confident that if there are two spinners in the side then we can get the job done for Australia.”

Lyon has taken 7 five wicket hauls in Test matches and it would be great to see if he could turn out to be the first bowler to take five wickets in an innings in a day-night Test match.

On the other hand, Steve O’Keefe is a self-described pink-ball specialist and has scalped 18 wickets at an average of 18.22 in three day-night matches for New South Wales, including match figures of 2-76 last month. Lyon said many batsmen couldn’t see the seam of the pink ball and it would give the two spinners an edge over the batsmen.