Nathan Lyon quashes Shane Warne's suggestion of taking a rest at the SCG
The Australians have already wrapped up the series 2-0 and Mitchell Swepson is in line to make his Test debut at Sydney. Shane Warne, who has rated Swepson highly before, suggested that Nathan Lyon must take a break for the match so that the leg-spinner could make his Test debut.
However, the off-spinner swatted aside those suggestions when asked by news.com.au, remarking,
Did Warnie ever want a rest and give Stuart MacGill a go? I won’t be resting. I haven’t met any Australian cricketers that would like to be rested.
Lyon was rather surprised by Warne's suggestion because he himself had a huge fall-out with the then captain Mark Waugh, when he was dropped for playing MacGill. Australians have always played with flair and the off-spinner believed that there was no player ever who himself wanted a rest.
It’s that hard playing Test cricket, but it’s that rewarding as well so every opportunity you get to play cricket for Australia it means the world to us. So I can’t imagine Mitch Starc, Pat (Cummins) or Patto (James Pattinson) putting his hand up to say I need a rest.
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The 26-year-old Swepson from Queensland has travelled with the Test team in the past during their tours to India and Bangladesh in 2017. With the Sydney pitch offering extra assistance to the spinners, Lyon has not ruled out a possibility of bowling in tandem with the leg-spinner in the third Test. He said,
I’m a big fan of Mitch, it’s great to see him in and around our squad so he gets his chance and fingers crossed we can have a great combination together.