Born Tough: The Nathan Lyon story

Nathan Lyon, Australia's off-spinner and team songmaster, has shown resilience and dedication, rising from humble beginnings to become a cricket legend.

Canberra: When Michael Hussey retired all those years ago in January 2013, Australia went looking for its new songmaster — the man who would rouse the players with a rendition of the team’s victory song, Under the Southern Cross I Stand, and they eventually settled on Nathan Lyon. Not because he was the best singer but simply because few others wore their hearts on their sleeve in quite the same way.

A veteran of 130 Tests, Nathan Lyon has 532 scalps to his name, making him the most successful finger spinner from Australia. (AP)

Lyon was different and that’s not just because he