Australia’s Ashes angel Nathan Lyon has England in a spin before Waca Test | Vic Marks

A year ago the spinner was on the brink of being dropped – now he is the linchpin of the side whose fizzing deliveries are tormenting batsmenIt feels unprecedented before a big match at the Waca that batsmen should spend time fretting about playing against an off-spinner. Here the talk has always been about pace and bounce and how to counteract it. Now there is the suggestion that the pitch might not be so pacy which means spin bowling could be more important. But there is another factor: