Melbourne [Australia], August 17 (ANI): Australian head coach Andrew McDonald has backed spinner Nathan Lyon after a tough outing in the first Darwin Test against Bangladesh, pointing out that the opposition was really "patient and disciplined" in their approach against the Aussie attack, including Lyon, when the pitch was not doing its tricks for the veteran spinner.
Australian spin legend Lyon, having clinched 568 wickets at an average of 30.32, struggled for wickets and impact during the Test loss against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 series. The bowler could produce figures of 1/125, as compared to his counterpart off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had a match-sealing five-wicket haul later in the match.
Besides going for 102 runs in the first innings, Lyon struggled to maintain his pivotal role for the team at home: controlling the scoring rate and squeezing Bangladesh under pressure.
McDonald sympathised with the bowler, adding that Bangladesh were exceptional in handling the veteran spinner while the conditions leaned in favour of the batters.
"I think they played him exceptionally well. As a whole, their batting unit, even against our quicks, they played the ball late, they were very patient and disciplined. And then they pounced when there was a scoring option, when we gave too much width," said McDonald as quoted by ICC.
"I think control from that end, given how blustery it was. There was not a lot in the surface at that point of time for Nathan. So it is very hard to judge one-off sample sizes to the function of that attack. I think they (Bangladesh) played very well, and that is a credit to them," he added.
Despite the call for changes and for underperforming Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne to be dropped, McDonald cautioned against hasty changes while acknowledging that the fact they are an ageing side will always be talked about.
"It is always going to be a conversation, the age profile of the team. A loss does not help that. But these players have got a fair bit of cricket, left in them. And it is I suppose, how we navigate through it," said the coach.
Reflecting on the situation, McDonald stated that it was natural for people to call for changes to the setup after a loss, but there were other aspects that needed to be kept in mind before decisions were made.
"There is always going to be a call for change at the back of a loss. There is always gonna be an emotion around that from the outside, and even internally. Our guys are sitting in the dressing room, and they are feeling it. You feel a Test loss. It means a lot to them to play for Australia, so let us not lose that in all this as well," he added.
McDonald said that what will define the team will be how they move forward and what will be their next decision.
"It is how you move forward, and ultimately our next decision will be our most important, as to what we do. How we get them prepped, how much recovery time they need to get prepped for the next game. The easy option is to call for change, a lot of people call for change when we are not winning. They are entitled to do that as well on the back of a performance like that. So that is part of our lot," he added.
The second Test between Australia and Bangladesh will start from August 22 at Mackay. (ANI)
McDonald backs Lyon after rough Darwin outing, cautions against hasty changes despite loss to Bangladesh
