‘You can be a leader without a title or a label’ – Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon's call-up to the Australian one-day international squad for the five-match series against England next month came as a surprise to a lot of people, including the off-spinner himself.

“I'm not sure, if I'm being honest,” Lyon told cricket.com.au when asked about his selection. “Not being arrogant, I think we need a few senior players around the group with the new era starting.”

The ‘new era’ has to do with Australia being without Steve Smith and David Warner, as well as Cameron Bancroft, led by Tim Paine in ODIs and Aaron Finch on Twenty20 Internationals, and with Justin Langer as the head coach in place of Darren Lehmann.

Lyon, 30, is Australia's premier spinner in the longest format of the game and recently became just the sixth Australian to capture 300 wickets in Tests, behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.

However, he has not had the same effect in white-ball cricket. Lyon has played just 13 ODIs and a solitary T20I.

In the 50-over format – his last game was in August 2016 – Lyon has picked up 17 wickets at a modest 34.82. But, with Adam Zampa not in the best form in recent times, Lyon's services not just as a spinner but also as part of the leadership group became important.

“I think you can be a leader without a title or a label next to your name,” said Lyon. “Even if you're not in the XI, I think you can be really important in being a great leader on and off the field. I think there's a massive opportunity for myself to really help Tim and Justin and Aaron as vice-captain (in ODIs).”

Paine had earlier suggested that Ashton Agar might get the nod ahead of Lyon in the playing XI, though he did not rule out the possibility of having both spinners playing together if the conditions were favourable.

“If the conditions are right we could play them both,” Paine said. “Ashton's shown that his bowling is improving every time he's given a chance at international level. His batting here this weekend has been exceptional, so he's turning into a really dynamic all-round cricketer.

“But in terms of who's the No.1 spinner, it's not that important – it's just that they're clear when they're playing what their role is and what's expected.”

The first of the five ODIs between England and Australia will be played on 13 June at The Oval.