Australia’s Nathan Lyon doesn’t believe the hyper surrounding the upcoming Ashes will take their focus away from the ICC World Test Championship final against India that begins next week, calling it the ‘grand final’.
Australia, the table toppers in the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle, square off against India hoping to collect what will be only their second ICC title in eight years. The summit clash takes place at The Oval in London between 7 to 11 June with the provision for a reserve day.
The Ashes then commences five days after the scheduled final day of the WTC final at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham with Australia hoping to beat England in England for the first time since 2001. They had come within touching distance of a series win the last time they toured England, in 2019 which ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
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“Yes, we are playing the Ashes but we’ve got a big game that we’re up for. This (WTC final) is our grand final, and then our season basically starts again,” Lyon was quoted as saying by Australian Associated Press.
“That’s probably where we’re quite happy with where we’re at with our planning. We are able to understand what we’ve got around the corner, and be OK. It’s exciting to be part of the final and the fanfare and stuff around it, it’s bloody special.
“I know every Australian fan is looking forward to the Ashes, and so they should be. But they should also be excited about this match,” the veteran off-spinner added.
Australia head into the WTC Final on the back of a 1-2 series defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India earlier this year. India ended their hopes of wresting back the silverware by winning the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi by huge margins.
Australia, however, fought back in style in the third Test in Indore with Steve Smith taking over the reins of the team from Pat Cummins, who had to fly back home due to a personal emergency. The fourth Test in Ahmedabad then ended in a high-scoring draw as India won their fourth consecutive Test series against the Aussies.
Lyon, however, believes the events of February and March will have no bearing on the one-off clash against Rohit Sharma’s men.
“You can wipe off anything that happened in India. Both teams are really well rounded in their squads. It is going to be a really good challenge,” said the bowler with 482 wickets to his credit.
“India obviously have some class batters but they have some class fast bowlers as well. It’s going to be a good challenge. Both squads going at it and competing for one game, it’s going to be a really good challenge.
“It’s a fresh start. I’m looking forward to it,” added Lyon.
With inputs from PTI
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