http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Darren-Scott-Lehmann-c52487 defends the selection of Ashton Agar – Cricket News
Darren Lehmann, the newly appointed Australian coach, has come out in defence of Ashton Agar’s selection for the first Test of the on-going Ashes series at Trent Bridge and revealed that the presence of eight right-handers in the
English batting line-up prompted this decision.
No sporting analyst was expecting the left-arm spinner to make his Test debut during the Ashes, with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nathan-Michael-Lyon-c78822 being the senior spinner in the squad. Quite surprisingly, however, the Kangaroos decided to hand over the Test cap
to Agar at the very last minute.
Apart from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705, the rest of the English team bats right-handed, which is the reason why the team management opted for a bowler who could spin the ball away from the bat.
Lehmann revealed that the 19-year-old cricketer impressed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 during the warm-up matches and the coach hopes that he would deliver the goods under pressure.
"The main reason for the selection is taking the ball away from all their right-handers and we think this is a really important weapon in particular for this Test match on that particular wicket,” said the Aussie coach. "In the
tour match Michael (Clarke) felt he had good drift and straightened the ball nicely so that's just the way we have gone with the selectors in this Test match and we're looking forward to him playing really well.”
While commenting on Lyon’s exclusion from the playing-11, Lehmann refused to rule him out for future and said that the off-spinner will get an opportunity whenever the conditions are right for him.
"Nathan Lyon is still in the mix. Obviously there is no reason, apart from the eight right handers that is, why we have gone with Ashton,” he added
The debutant bowled seven wicket-less overs in the first innings of the Trent Bridge Test after conceding 24 runs.
Agar has only played 10 first-class matches so far and he is quite inexperienced for a spin bowler. Most cricket pundits believe that a spinner should be allowed to enhance his skills at the first-class level for a few seasons
before he is drafted in an international side.
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