ISLAMABAD : Australia spinner Nathan Lyon said on Wednesday he was proud to be involved in the team’s first tour of Pakistan in 24 years and hoped for a 3-0 test series win to make the trip even more memorable.
Australia completed a 4-0 Ashes series victory over England earlier this year and while they face vastly different conditions in Pakistan Lyon said the goal was to win every match.
“My mindset is every game we go into, we will look to win, not draw or lose. My mindset is to win 3-0 in Pakistan,” Lyon told reporters ahead of the first test, which begins on Friday in Rawalpindi.
Major teams have shunned Pakistan since an attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009 that killed six policemen and two civilians but international sides have recently started touring the country again.
“Pakistan haven’t had the opportunity to have a lot of international cricket here over a number of years so to be able to be the first Australian team to come here to play … It’s a pretty proud moment,” Lyon said.
“We’ve spoken as a group about how big it is for the people of Pakistan to see the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins and Marnus Labuschagne … these guys are proud to come out here and play to be role models.”
Lyon said the wickets looked similar to those in the United Arab Emirates and he expected a good batting track early in the opening match before spin and reverse swing later.
“My role is going to change across the test matches. There’s going to be times where I’ll be in a holding role … where there is opportunity for me to be more attacking I will,” Lyon said.
“All bowlers in our squad are well prepared to play whatever role it takes to perform well. It’s going to be challenging but we’ve got the squad to cover all areas.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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