ON the day Michael Clarke attempted to play down the hype surrounding new spinner Nathan Lyon, Shane Warne compared the rookie to England’s prolific wicket-taker Graeme Swann.
It comes a day after wicketkeeper Brad Haddin made a similar link between the styles of the two off-spinners.
Warne tweeted to Clarke “like the look of N. Lyon – please pass on my congrats to him – he’s a chance – old-fashioned style offie – similar to Swann!!”
While Clarke expected the pitch for the second Test, which begins in Kandy today, would turn more as the match progresses, it would offer nothing like the assistance of the dust bowl in Galle, where Australia won the first Test by 125 runs.
“My only concern is the external expectation and the expectation within for Nathan, that he continues to try to get better every single day,” Clarke said of Lyon, who claimed 5-34 in the first innings at Galle.
He said Lyon should keep working on his trade and that focusing too much on results could be a trap.
“For me it’s about keep doing his thing, keep working hard, keep trying to improve what he has.
“Don’t try and be anyone else. He’s obviously got a lot of talent there but he’s not Shane Warne, he’s not Stuart MacGill, he’s not Peter Taylor, he’s Nathan Lyon.
“He’s his own person, he bowls his own way and he’s got his own strengths.
“He needs to continue improving his strengths and keep working on his weaknesses as we all do.
“Expectation is probably the hardest thing at a young age to deal with. The media builds you up, public expectation wants to see you perform every time, and from within (yourself).
“You’ve proved you can perform at that level so you expect to do it every time you walk out on to the field.
“That’s not cricket, it doesn’t work that way. There are ups and downs. It’s about trying to learn from every experience and enjoying the journey as well.”(AFP)