MELBOURNE, Apr 8
Lancashire are hoping that “common sense prevails” in their discussions with Cricket Australia over Nathan Lyon’s availability, after his debut for the county against Surrey was heavily curtailed by the Manchester weather.
Lyon initially signed for the whole season but was only made available for seven out of Lancashire’s first nine County Championship fixtures by CA. He was selected as one of two spinners, alongside Tom Hartley, for the opening match but his involvement was restricted to a first-ball duck and two wicketless overs.
Asked if Lyon’s cameo would count as one of his seven permitted appearances, Lancashire coach Dale Benkenstein said: “I hope not. We have asked the question and hope common sense prevails. Two overs doesn’t constitute a match. But we are waiting to hear back from Cricket Australia.”
CA cut Lyon’s Lancashire stint short
Only 81.1 overs were possible across the four days at Emirates Old Trafford.
The water table on the ground is very high and heavy overnight rain made the prospects of play on the final day slim even before a further morning shower. Umpires Peter Hartley and Paul Pollard carried out three inspections before finally pulling the plug at 2.15 pm.
“It wasn’t ideal but there’s a few grounds [around the country] where it has been worse,” Benkenstein said. “At least we got some play. We got some positives out of it and there were a few areas in which we can do better.
“Although there wasn’t a lot of cricket out in the middle, the nets have been great. Everybody’s managed to get a good bowl outside, and there has been a lot of batting in the nets on grass which helps us top up and get ready for the Hampshire game.”
Surrey’s coach Gareth Batty praised the performances of Cameron Steel and Dan Lawrence, who took nine first-innings wickets between them. “I think both Cam and Dan are very skilled spinners but because we have a very good seam attack, the spinners don’t always get a go,” Batty said. “They got a go here and they were both quite magnificent.”
Having bowled out Lancashire for 202 on Saturday , Surrey took 11 points from the game while Lancashire took eight points. Rory Burns’ team now return home to play Somerset at The Oval in a game starting on Friday while Lancashire’s next match is away at Hampshire, also on Friday.
