MacGill urges Oz selectors not to overlook 'stop-gap' Lyon for winter Ashes

Australian spin coach Stuart MacGill has urged selectors not to overlook off-spinner Nathan Lyon for a third time while selecting the team for the winter Ashes, and insisted that Lyon was badly let down by sacked coach Mickey Arthur.

Although McGill is a strong advocate for Pakistani refugee-turned-leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, he believes that Ahmed should only be picked as a second spinner alongside Lyon during the Ashes.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lyon has been dropped twice this year, first during the disastrous tour of India and then for the first two Tests of the Ashes in England, and MacGill is adamant that the bowler deserves to play in the first Ashes Test as he is in form and has worked hard in the last few months to be a potent wicket-taker.

The former Australian leg-spinner also said that being an international bowler, Ahmed should be the second spin option for Australia during the winter Ashes as there is room for two spin bowlers in several Test matches during the upcoming winter.

Fuming over the fact that Lyon has been used a stop-gap for the fast bowlers despite being a front-line spinner last year and into the India series, MacGill also said that it happened because of Arthur, although he admitted that Lyon is regaining his match-winning form.