Nathan Lyon says Adelaide Oval’s switch to a red ball test won’t change the way he plays at his most dominant venue as Australia host the West Indies there for a second consecutive summer.
Adelaide will have a rare daytime test in January in the newly released summer schedule, with their usual December day-night game pushed back to later in the season.
The T-20 Test, ODI and match schedule is below, but the landscape might have been different had a sweeping New Year’s Test been approved.
Earlier this year, South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas and the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) suggested snatching the New Year’s Test and holding it in Adelaide as rain always seems to fall in Sydney at this time of the year.
The possibility of a change remains alive despite an intense reaction to the plan, although the SCG will host the game against Pakistan next January.
Australian Nathan Lyon, world cricket’s top wicket-taker at the Adelaide Ring, is happy the venue is hosting a red ball test this summer
The Spin King (pictured bowling in India in Adelaide in 2018) insists his style won’t need to change to compensate for the switch to red ball in the City of Churches
Cricket Australia opted to start the men’s Test summer in Perth on December 14, with the organization prioritizing sending the most marketable Pakistani side to Western Australia.
Officials are keen to boost the prestige of Testing at Optus Stadium in Perth, after poor crowds attended last year against West Indies following a two-year absence due to COVID.
Pakistan will also play the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, before the West Indies arrive for the Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane.
The Adelaide Test will start on a Wednesday due to Windies schedule commitments, before a day-night game at the Gabba completes the Test summer from January 25.
South Australia made no secret of their frustration at being moved on in January and hosting the West Indies again, but asked for a test day after missing a December or New Year’s game.
Lyon have emerged as the King of Adelaide in recent years after rising from conservative on-site to first wicket-taker in Test cricket.
And the offspinner insisted the change wouldn’t leave the site at risk of being too batter-friendly.
“I’m really excited to play a red ball game there, because we haven’t played a red ball game there for several years,” Lyon said.
“I think it’s the best place to play cricket in the world. The contest between the bat and the ball. It’s so equal. I don’t think it changes too much, if I’m being honest.
Lyon says the Adelaide Oval is the best place in the cricketing world to play, whether you’re a batter or a bowler
Of Lyon’s 60 Test wickets in Adelaide, 28 came with the pink ball at an average of 23.85.
His record with the red ball on the ground is almost as solid, with 32 Test wickets at 27.62.
Either way, Lyon said he didn’t need to change his way of playing with the switch from the red ball to the pink ball.
“I’m not changing much at all,” he said.
‘It’s the same process. It’s just about doing what I do, using my skills over and over again. It is very simple.
“When you complicate things, that’s where you get in trouble.”
Australia and the West Indies will also meet for three ODIs and three T20s at the end of January and February, before Australia travel to New Zealand for two Tests and three T20s.
2023/24 AUSTRALIA SUMMER CRICKET SCHEDULE
MEN
THREE TEST AGAINST PAKISTAN
December 14-18, Optus Stadium, Perth
December 26-30, MCG, Melbourne
January 3-7, SCG, Sydney
TWO TESTS AGAINST THE ANTILLES
January 17-21, Adelaide Oval
January 25-29, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N)
THREE ODIs against ANTILLES
February 2, MCG, Melbourne
February 4, SCG, Sydney
February 6, Manuka Oval, Canberra
THREE T20 against the ANTILLES
February 9, Blundstone Arena, Hobart
February 11, Adelaide Oval
February 13, Optus Stadium, Perth
WOMEN
THREE T20 against the ANTILLES
October 1, North Sydney Oval
October 2, North Sydney Ring
October 5, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
THREE ODIs against ANTILLES
October 8, Allan Border Field, Brisbane
October 12, Junction Oval, Melbourne
October 15, Junction Oval, Melbourne
MULTIFORMAT SERIES v SOUTH AFRICA
T20:
January 27, Manuka Oval, Canberra
January 28, Manuka Oval, Canberra
January 30, Blundstone Arena, Hobart
ODI:
February 3, Adelaide Oval
February 7, North Sydney Oval
February 10, North Sydney Ring
Test
February 15-18, WACA, Perth
