Nathan Lyon improves his skill set for success: Lyon was a member of the Adelaide Oval groundstaff until Berry saw his bowling skills a year before his international debut in 2011.
If former South Australia coach Darren Berry had not discovered him, Nathan Lyon might have been one of Australia’s most successful spinners.
Lyon was a member of the Adelaide Oval groundstaff until Berry saw his bowling skills a year before his international debut in 2011. And once he joined the national team, he was committed.
The fifer’s debut international outing in a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in August/September 2011 highlighted his potential and skill. However, what followed were two trying years for the off-spinner.
With 479 Test wickets in 118 matches, Lyon is undoubtedly Australia’s finest spin bowler in the post-Shane Warne era, as well as one of the top off-spinners in modern-day cricket, with 479 Test wickets in 118 matches.
Lyon’s performance versus India in India was a noteworthy feat. With 53 wickets from 10 Tests, he has outperformed even Warne (34 in 9 Tests) on Indian soil.
True, Warne has bowled to VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly, but Lyon’s consistency distinguishes him from the others.
Getting five five-wicket hauls against guys who have played in these conditions since childhood is no easy task.
“He normally prefers to come over the wicket. But he’s hitting the stumps a lot more on this trip. He’s taking more wickets by coming around the wicket, including lbw and bowled.”Using this unusual method and bowling exactly the manner the wickets requested has surely benefited him,” said Sridharan Sriram, Australia’s long-serving spin-bowling assistant coach (from 2016 to 22).
“In addition, he has the potential to defeat batters on all sides” (of the wicket). As a result, he is quite hazardous,” Sriram stated.
Lyon, unlike his Indian colleague Ravichandran Ashwin, may not have a slew of tricks in his sleeve.
To some, he still appears to be a bowler who bowls within his capabilities.
“To some extent, it appears so” (he bowls within his limitations). But he has undoubtedly perfected his skill set, which has made him successful in India,” said Deep Dasgupta, a former India keeper-batsman.
“Well, Lyon spins the ball so much, and despite his revs on the ball, he has the same level of control. “Therefore, I’d rather say he has no restrictions,” Sriram said.