Chandigarh: Dumped Australian spinner Nathan Lyon today challenged coach Mickey Arthur`s claim that he is short on confidence, asserting that his trust in his abilities has only gone up after clean bowling Sachin Tendulkar in the Chennai Test.
Lyon was replaced by Xavier Doherty in the Hyderabad Test as he took four wickets at the expense of 244 runs in the series-opener.
Arthur had said that Lyon needs to work on his technique and they want him to get a little bit of confidence back.
"No, I reckon it`s gone up if anything, bowling to the best batsman in the world through the gate. As an off-spinner growing up, that`s what you dream of -- my confidence has gone up a level rather than down," Lyon said.
"To bowl Sachin Tendulkar through the gate you must be doing something right. I was quite happy with that. I went for a few runs here and there, ..But I`ve worked hard in the nets and I`m feeling confident in my own bowling.
"The technical stuff . . . It`s all the same, I haven`t changed anything from when I first started bowling for Australia since I was 16," Lyon was quoted as saying by Australian media.
Lyon feels that this tour is not yet over for him and that he can make his way back in the team.
"I have to keep putting my hand up for selection and get back in the nets. I`ve been fortunate enough to have a few good training sessions in the nets and I got a few things out of that. I am confident in my skill set to get the job done if I`m selected," he said.
Lyon was not happy with the treatment meted out to him by the team management but praised Doherty (3/131) and Glen Maxwell (4/127) for their performances in the Hyderabad Test.
"I thought both Maxi on debut and Xavier bowled well and Maxi picked up four big scalps on day three. Xavier did his role in the team, he bowled really well and pretty similar to (Ravindra) Jadeja. He challenged the stumps so they bowled really well," he said.
Talking about his Doosra ball, which he describes as Jeff, Lyon said he did not use it in the Chennai Test he did not use it since that was not the place to "bring it out.
"If you look at the pitch in Chennai, the best part of the pitch was the middle and I was going to get more variation with my off-break, that`s why Jeff didn`t come out. I always work on it, so hopefully it`s getting better."
Lyon the kind of ball with which he bowled Tendulkar, he has used once in the past.
"You are going to laugh at this, but it was the ball I bowled Chris Martin at the Gabba (2011-12). Exactly the same thing, through the gate," he said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 08, 2013, 21:00