Nathan Lyon eyes consolidation after limited-over cricket recall
The most successful Australian Test off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, is all set to revive his ODI career after two-year hiatus.
About a month ago, Australia’s most successful off-spinner in Tests, Nathan Lyon, was told that his chances to play international limited-overs cricket again were bleak.
But on Tuesday, the 30-year-old Lyon was delivered a pleasant surprise when he was named in Australia’s touring party to England for five ODIs. Lyon, who played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2016, will be making a comeback of sorts to 50-over cricket after being looked over for close to two years.
Lyon’s presence will be vital for Australia who are without their key players Steve Smith and David Warner, with the 50-over competition in England being looked upon as a crucial tour keeping in mind next year’s World Cup.
“Four weeks ago, I had a meeting with ‘Cracker’ (Hohns) in Jo’burg and he didn’t rate my chances very highly,” Lyon was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
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“But to get a phone call from Trevor Hohns last night while I was cooking dinner was a good surprise. It’s well documented I that I want to play in all three formats for Australia, that’s my goal and has been my goal for a very long time,” he said.
“To get this opportunity and be included in the squad and to head over to England where the World Cup is being played, that’s going to be a massive advantage,” Lyon added.
Lyon, who terrorised England’s left-handed batsmen throughout the Ashes 2017-18, is now looking forward to resuming their rivalry.
“My biggest thing is going out and bowling my best ball and I believe if I bowl my best ball consistently enough, hopefully I can do some damage or limit some runs in one-day cricket. Obviously, I’ve got to be a lot smarter and probably think a lot quicker on your feet in the shorter formats than what you do in Test matches but it provides a great opportunity,” Lyon explained.
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“They’ve got some world-class players with (Captain Eoin) Morgan and (Ben) Stokes, (Jos) Buttler, (Joe) Root and these guys, so it’s going to be an unbelievable challenge for the Australian cricket side but it’s an interesting one,” he added.
‘Captaincy not on radar’
Lyon said he is not targeting Australia’s captaincy role despite Australian selection boss Trevor Hohns saying that the position is up for grabs.
“A massive area for a few of us to stand up in is in leadership roles,” Lyon said. “Missing ‘Starcy’ (Mitchell Starc) and ‘Cummo’ (Pat Cummins), it’s massive for us but it provides a massive opportunity for Jhye (Richardson), Kane (Richardson), Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye to really step up.
“I know Josh (Hazlewood) is a world-class bowler, but it’s a really good opportunity for Josh and myself to really stand up as leaders in amongst the bowlers.
Lyon said captaincy role is not on his list. “It’s not on my radar. I’m a big one for believing you don’t need a label to be a leader. But if the opportunity came there I wouldn’t say no to it if I could help Tim Paine out. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to help Tim Paine out without having the ‘VC’ badge on my shoulder,” he said.
