There was a time, not so long ago, when Nathan Lyon was almost dropped from the team. Seems like an impossible story, doesn’t it? How can one drop Nathan Lyon – a man in the form of his life? But that was pretty much what the Australia selectors would have done had Steve O’Keefe’s injury not intervened.

That event allowed Lyon to participate in the Adelaide Test against South Africa – a match which saw the beginning of his comeback. And now, his coach and mentor, John Davison, believes that Lyon is the best spinner in the world.

"I think he's been thrown under the bus a little bit, in terms of when we went through that little bad period 12 months ago as a team," Davison said in Perth.

"I think the fact the batters are scoring runs more consistently now helps out your spinner massively. I don't think he was actually bowling as badly as his figures may have suggested back against South Africa and Sri Lanka, but the fact we're putting the opposition under more pressure helps the bowlers massively.

Indeed, Australia captain, Steven Smith, and coach, Darren Lehman, publically stated their displeasure on the spinner’s inconsistency – but Davison believes the lack of support from the batsmen also played a role in Lyon losing form.

"The fact his figures weren't so flattering and in conditions where spinners were meant to flourish, but when you haven't got runs on the board it makes it difficult to put the pressure on. Young Sri Lankan batters in conditions they're really familiar with, that's tough.

Over the last year, Lyon has continuously bowled and has become a primary figure in the Australian bowling attack.

"The majority of his career he's been battling for a steady position in the team, in general they've been looking for who is coming through rather than possibly backing him to the hilt. Over the last 12 months he's grown in confidence on and off the ground, I'm sure you see it in the media that he's a lot more confident within himself. As a 30-year-old spinner who's in good shape, hopefully he can carry on a lot longer."