Young spinners prepare to take over from Nathan Lyon
Davies, 22, recently made his T20I debut after a promising series in Bangladesh with four wickets in three games, and claimed 3-17 in his first match. However, the conditions there offered a different challenge from what he had expected.
In Chennai, Australia's development squad is giving their emerging spin bowlers an insight into playing in conditions vastly different from home. Left-arm spinner Joel Davies, leg-spinner Lloyd Pope and off-spinner Jack Sinfield are all eager to make a mark in India and vie for a spot in the national team. Their main hurdle remains the veteran Nathan Lyon, who, at 32, is still Australia's first-choice Test spinner.
Davies, 22, made his T20I debut recently after a strong series in Bangladesh, where he claimed four wickets in three matches, including a match figures of 3-17 in his first game. However, the spinners found the conditions in India less yielding than anticipated, with Davies noting, "I don’t think it was quite what I was expecting.
It didn’t spin as much as I was anticipating." Despite this, he found the experience invaluable, adding, "it was awesome to get exposure to different conditions. In terms of the temperature, it was very similar to Chennai."
Lyon is still the first choice for Australia's Test spinners, but Davies believes that the depth emerging from state cricket could give the selectors a plethora of options. He praised Lyon's current performance, stating, “He is still doing a great job. So, I think he’ll keep hanging around while he’s still fit. But I think there are some very good options around state cricket at the moment.” Australia's selector Tony Dodemaide had earlier described Davies as "a very exciting prospect."
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