Image Credit- AFP
“It’s likely
that he will become tired of me by September,” Tom Hartley jokingly said
prior to embarking on what he hopes would be a fruitful summer of studying
Nathan Lyon. For the entirety of the 2024 season, Australia’s best player will
be a Lancashire teammate of England’s newest finger spinner. That doesn’t seem
like a horrible thing to him.
With 20 wickets, Hartley leads the Indian Test cricket wicket-taking rankings
after a fantastic start to the game. The foreigners’ lone success in four games
came on their debut in Hyderabad, as they struck a match-winning 7 for 62.
With the series
gone, England has the opportunity to improve on a scoreline that stands at 3-1
against in the fourth Test in Dharamsala. Hartley is going to be the team’s
player of the series even if he doesn’t add to his total.
He and Shoaib Bashir were based on assumptions about their skill sets and
physical characteristics. Bashir, who has taken just 10 wickets in six
first-class matches for Somerset, has 12 dismissals from two Tests. England’s
head coach, Brendon McCullum, has expressed his desire for his team to play
more games, calling it “mad” if they were not given more chances.
Lyon, who has been
dismissed 527 times in Test cricket, was a wise addition to Lancashire’s
roster. Hartley’s meagre average of 36.57 from just 20 first-class games at the
time of the signing suggested the need for a more skilled spinner. After an
incredible six weeks, Hartley is now a completely new animal.
Although there is concern that Lyon’s presence may hinder Hartley’s growth as a
red-ball player, the 24-year-old only sees the positive. Furthermore, Carl
Crowe, a spin expert, decided to resign from his position as assistant coach at
Old Trafford, potentially lengthening Lyon’s stay.
“Obviously
signing another spinner, you think about it a little bit,” Hartley said.
“The type of bowler he is is something I’m trying to work on.
“He’s someone I want to try to replicate. Over here I’ve tried to
replicate [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar [Patel]. To be an international cricketer
you have to able to perform in different conditions and I think Nathan is the
next guy that can really help me. I’m really looking forward to it.
“The way he operates in Australia on pretty flat wickets, there are times
when English wickets are similar. He’s going to be great to learn off.”