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Travis Head has identified Nathan Lyon as Australia's danger man on day five in Adelaide, as England fight to avoid going 2-0 down in the Ashes.
Travis Head has warned England they should never feel properly in against Nathan Lyon on day five in Adelaide as Australia hunt a 2-0 lead in the Ashes.
England face a mighty task to save the second Test, resuming at 4-82 in pursuit of a target of 468 and needing to bat out all of Monday with just six wickets to force a draw.
With 43.2 overs already bowled and Joe Root out, England would need to become just the sixth side this century to bat out 134 overs in a fourth-innings to force a draw.
And the tourists' task is made no easier by a wicket that has already shown plenty of bite and turn throughout the game.
Lyon was once criticised for his inability to spin Australia to fourth-innings wins, but he has made the job his own at the Adelaide Oval over the years.
He took a five-wicket haul against Pakistan two summers ago to take Australia to a big win, and did likewise on the ground against India in 2014-15.
Another two wickets will also see him draw level with Shane Warne for the all-time leading wicket-taker on the ground, with 56.
"Having played Shield cricket against him here, you can feel like you're in," Head said.
"They might look comfortable, and there was a big period where Gaz might not feel like he's in the game.
"The ball is spinning consistently past the bat. When is the opportunity going to come?
"And then once that does come, it sort of opens it up.
"We know we can hold sustained pressure with Gaz, that he is going to create opportunities."
A loss for England would be near fatal for their hopes of regaining the Ashes, given only Australia's team in 1936-37 has come back from 2-0 down to win a five-Test series.
Ben Stokes looms as England's last real hope, needing something akin to his Headingley heroics in 2019 to save the game.
The allrounder has slowly worked his way into the series, admitting he was unhappy with his returns in Brisbane before being let down by his lower order in the first innings in Adelaide.
"They've still got some quality players," Head said.
"Stokesy in the first innings set himself really well but ran out of partners.
"We know he's a huge wicket tomorrow in the scheme of things.
"He played really well tonight (soaking up 40 deliveries to be three not out), letting the ball come to him and his defence is pretty sound."
