HE’S undisputedly Australia’s number one spinner and among the best exponents of the craft in the world, but four years ago Nathan Lyon’s Test career was firmly at a crossroads.

Next month he will find himself playing against the same team in the same country that put him so firmly under the microscope in 2014. Yet to establish himself as a bowler of serious repute in Asian conditions, Lyon took three wickets at a career-worst average of 140.66 as Australia sunk to a 2-0 series defeat at the hands of Pakistan.

Lyon didn’t take too long to right those wrongs, taking a match-deciding 7-152 against India at Adelaide Oval, and after a few more ups and downs has climbed to fifth on the Australian Test wicket taking charts (306 at 32.21). Pertinently, he has also unlocked the key to success in Asia, with returns of 22 wickets at 14.31 against Bangladesh and 19 at 25.26 against India on his past two visits to the continent.

He’s confident he can apply the lessons he learnt on those two tours, and against Sri Lanka in 2016 (16 at 31.93), in the UAE.

“I’m a better cricketer and better person (than he was in 2014) to be honest,” Lyon said from the squad’s training camp at the ICC Academy in Dubai. “The amount of cricket that you play you keep learning and learning. If you’re not learning that’s when you start to get in a bit of trouble.

“I feel like I’m in such a better place. Very happy with the way I bowled today, very comfortable with the way they’re coming out and that’s going in my terms the ugly style.”

When Lyon says bowling “ugly” he is referring to abandoning his traditional Australian off-spin style, attacking the stumps with a tighter line and undercutting the ball rather than going over the top of it.

“You have to find a way to hit the stumps, and that may be bowling square or round-arm, whatever it may be.”

The 30-year-old is looking forward to bowling in tandem with Jon Holland, who is shaping as his likely spin partner for the series. It’s been more than two years since Holland last played Test cricket – he took five wickets at 54.80 across the two Tests he played in 2016 – and the Victorian has since established himself as one of the Sheffield Shield’s most dominant spinners (62 wickets at 22.24). He cemented selection in the Test squad by taking 6-81 against India A earlier in the month and Lyon says he has already struck up a partnership with the left-hand finger-spinner.

“I’m a big fan of Jon Holland,” he said. “Our communication bowling together out in the middle today was brilliant. Hopefully we can really build that relationship here and take that out to the middle and that’s going to be massive key for us.”

Mitchell Johnson - Australia’s best bowler last time around in the UAE (six at 29.50) - has called on selectors to pick three spinners in the XI that plays at Dubai. Lyon expects Johnson will get his wish however is unsure if the team will feature three frontline spinners or two with a batsman who can turn the ball.

“If it’s going to be a Pune wicket why wouldn’t you play three spinners,” he said referring to the first Test against India in 2017 which turned square from ball one. “But going off the last tour here, they were pretty flat, they were hard work.”

Given middle-order candidates Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head both bowl spin, Lyon expects Tim Paine will have

“They both offer us a spin option as well. I think we’re going to have a minimum three spinners in the side no matter what.”

Australia will begin a three-day warm-up match against Pakistan A on September 29 before the first Test on October 7.