I don't think it's me that didn't get it as my comments about ruthless selectors were referring to the quote in my post about Marsh.
Lyon is a 50/50. As I said I'd like to see him bowl against decent batsmen and not get hidden on the grounds that he has to learn to do that but I get the point about the seaming pitches.
Sorry dude, my bad and my post certainly wasn't directed all at you, but also to those who seem to think the world will end if we go into a test match without a front line spinning option. (Like we did in Perth last year, or like NZ did on the green pitch in Tassie a couple of weeks ago, when Vettori pulled out. Rare occurences for both teams, but which also helped result in rare wins for both teams.)
And again, it's not about "hiding" him on those grounds, it's about picking a better option for those conditions. "Playing each ball on its merits", from a selection point of view. It has nothing to do with him, it's about picking the most appropriate team for the situation. I believe what's best for the team is supposed to come first. Tassie, especially, was an obvious one (green pitch, rain forecast for all 5 days= seam/swing paradise). And why does he have to "learn to bowl in those conditions"? Why would we he ever have to play in those sort of conditions for Australia again?
With the likes of Patto, Cummins, Siddle, Hilfy, Harris, Hazlewood, Starc, Coulter Nile, etc, looking like giving us an outstanding fast bowling arsenal for the forseeable future, why can't we just pick 4 "quicks" for matches where it's going to clearly suit pace, from now on? There is no rule that says "you have to pick a spinner". It's a free country, we can pick whoever we believe will be best for us in the conditions for that match. And with the policy change meaning they're producing pitches with more "juice" in them in Australia now (to help get more results and more interesting matches) there are likely to be plenty of occasions where we play on pitches like in Tassie and the MCG, that clearly suit fast bowling and seam/swing. On pitches that don't, like Sydney may be, or when we play in the sub-continent, West Indies, etc, then we pick a team appropriate for those conditions.
It makes little sense to pick someone who, like in the last two matches, will take up up to 25% of our bowling spots in the team, yet take only 10% of the wickets, (with all of those 10% being the "tail" of the opposing batting line-ups, which are far less valuable than top order wickets) because the conditions don't suit him and the opposition (at least in India's case) like facing what you bowl (spin, in this case). That is an innefective use of your "resources". If this was a major company, wanting to be the best in their field, I doubt they'd tolerate that and I don't believe we ought to, either. It's not necessary.
We'd all like to be able to squeeze a high quality spinning option (which Lyon looks to be) into our side for every game, just as we'd like to have a genuine "all rounder" as well, but despite what some seem to think, they're not ESSENTIAL, especially when the conditions don't suit them at all and suit someone else that you have available, far better. There are only 11 spots available and when you have a whole squad to choose from, you don't have to limit yourself to the 11 who played the last game.