Ahead of the second Test match of the Ashes series, former cricketer Tom Moody feels that <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/australia-nathan-lyon-opens-up-spinners-role-in-australian-conditions-ahead-of-the-ashes-23596709" rel="nofollow">Nathan Lyon</a> should be benched by saying that it is hard to include a spinner.
He said that it is hard to exclude a specialist spinner from a Test match, but considering the day-night format of the game, the former cricketer wants Lyon to sit out.
"That's half the problem - I sense that in some cases, the tail is wagging the dog and you do not want that in any high-performance environment," said the 60-year-old former cricketer.
"A few hard decisions need to be made, and my personal view is I would not play Lyon," he added.
Moody named all-rounder <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/wtc-final-hopefully-that-i-can-continue-to-get-the-nod-beau-webster-ahead-of-title-clash-vs-sa-23562622" rel="nofollow">Beau Webster</a> as the player who could come in Lyon's place.
Further speaking, he feels the English batsmen do not tend to spend long periods at the crease.
"I never thought I would see the day where you do not play a specialist spinner in a Test match in Australia, but with day-night cricket it is hard to get the spinner into the contest. The second part to that is, the way England play, it is very hard to get the spinner into the game, because they do not tend to bat for long periods of time," he said.
"Putting that together with the day-night fixture, I think Australia would be better having someone like [Beau] Webster taking Lyon's spot and lengthening the batting order," stated Moody, who has represented <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/if-its-fine-in-australia-why-criticise-india-23604444" rel="nofollow">Australia</a> in eight Test matches.
The second Test match of the Ashes series between England and Australia will kick off from December 4 at The Gabba in Brisbane. Ahead of the clash, Australian skipper Pat Cummins may return to action after missing out on the first match due to injury.
The first of the much-anticipated five-match series ended in Australia's favour. The Aussies won the clash by eight wickets at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Star pacer <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/eng-vs-aus-1st-test-mitchell-starc-registers-10-wicket-haul-achieves-new-feat-in-ashes-history-108394/1" rel="nofollow">Mitchell Starc</a> was named the 'Player of the Match'. He returned with the figures of seven wickets for 58 runs in the first innings, and claimed three wickets by conceding 55 runs in the second essay.
(With ANI Inputs)

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