Tom Hartley wants to secure Lancashire spot alongside Nathan Lyon after emerging as England’s top spinner in India… and he insists he would ‘love’ to learn from Aussie great

Tom Hartley hopes his emergence as a real class red-ball spinner in India will earn him an early-season place for Lancashire alongside their big overseas signing Nathan Lyon.

Brendon McCullum wants the counties to back England by picking the spinners who have made a name for themselves on this tour, saying it would be ‘crazy’ if they overlooked Hartley and Somerset’s Shoaib Bashir.

And Hartley, the leading wicket-taker on both sides with 20 casualties, believes he can both learn from the Australian and also complement him by playing with him at Old Trafford, even in the seam-friendly conditions at the start of the season.

“I would love to play alongside him and hopefully build a really nice partnership,” Hartley said after England’s first practice session in Dharamshala ahead of Thursday’s final Test was canceled due to indifferent weather.

‘It’s fantastic that Lancashire have signed Lyon, but you obviously think about it a bit when your county signs another spinner.

The off-spinner is the leading wicket-taker of the series against India with 20 in four Tests

“He’s a great person for me to learn from. He is a great overspin bowler so I will try to get as many tips as possible. He’ll probably have had enough of me by September, but hopefully he’ll be really open by then.’

New Lancashire coach Dale Benkenstein and his Somerset colleague Jason Kerr have been non-committal about coach McCullum’s plea, leading to speculation. Hartley and Bashir, who are competing with Jack Leach for a place at Taunton, may have to go out on loan to get a regular job. cricket ahead of the Test summer.

“I think it’s a bit early to talk about a loan,” insisted Hartley, who was considered more of a white-ball bowler until England picked him for this series.

‘I will do what is best for Lancashire and the team. We’ll just have to see.’

What this series has done for the 24-year-old Hartley is prove to him that he is not only good enough for red-ball cricket, but also to excel at Test level. “I didn’t know how much I would play in this series, so if I play every game and take 20 wickets, I have surprised myself,” he said.

‘When I have a moment to myself, I often think about it. I’m just now starting to realize that maybe I’m good enough for this and that I can expect to do well now. Long may this continue.”

Meanwhile, McCullum says Ollie Pope must overcome his skittish starts if he is to realize the potential that saw him play one of the great overseas innings in England’s first Test win in Hyderabad.

Brendon McCullum wants the counties to support England by picking the spinners who have made a name for themselves on this tour

Lancashire have signed Australian star off-spinner Nathan Lyon for next season

McCullum believes Ollie Pope must overcome his skittish beginnings to realize his potential

Pope made 196 in the famous comeback win, but since then his form has dipped, culminating in him making a three-ball pair in the fourth Test at Ranchi, even though one dismissal was one of the controversial DRS ones that featured this series.

“Look at Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting when they first started batting,” McCullum said. ‘They were hectic at the beginning and everyone is susceptible when they first go outside. It’s just the way it is.

‘But Popey tries to be as calm as possible when he goes out and there is a period where he has to get information from the wicket and get the rhythm of how the game is going.

“It’s important for him that he hasn’t played his innings before he goes out, just relaxes and supports himself in that situation. He knows what to do.’