Australia’s most successful off spin bowler Nathan Lyon entered the 500 club with a flourish when he dismissed Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf.
Now Lyon has become the eighth bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 500 or more wickets. The others are Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), James Anderson (690), Anil Kumble (619), Stuart Broad (604), Glenn McGrath (563) and Courtney Walsh (519).
When he first stepped into the Australian team, he was always compared to the flamboyant Shane Warne. “He will never be as successful as Warne,” was the unanimous opinion of all the experts. But the comparison was never really fair. Because Warne was a leg spinner and Lyon an off spinner. Leg spinners have an added charm because of their unorthodox means and methods.
For many years even the Aussie selectors had no faith in Lyon. They kept him in the team because there was no other alternative. Lyon had to struggle against the prejudice within his own country.
Memories were still fresh of Shane Warne whose prodigious turners, deceptive top spinners and googlies had the batsmen bemused and the spectators awed. Lyon was not as spectacular as Warne but in his own way he was a shrewd bowler who could keep the batters guessing all the time.
But one person who now has great faith in Lyon is his skipper Pat Cummins. According to the Aussie captain, the lion-hearted off spinner has the merit to overtake Shane Warne in the future. Lyon himself refused to be drawn into a discussion on whether he could overtake Glenn McGrath and then Shane Warne but Cummins was ready to air his views on the subject.
Theory of Pat Cummins
In an article Pat Cummins was quoted as saying that Lyon still has four to five years of cricket left in him. With about 10 to 12 matches being played every year, Lyon could be playing in 50 or 60 more Test matches. His present wicket-taking rate is an average of about four per match. So if he plays about 50 more Tests he will get about 200 more wickets. That will take him to 700 and with a little extra effort he could surpass Warne’s tally of 708.
The Aussie captain has worked it out on paper but it remains to be seen whether that equation will come true in real life or not. As of now, Nathan Lyon is Australia’s third highest wicket taker in Test cricket.
Where Lyon honed his skills?
Lyon learnt a lot about his craft and honed his skills when he played with the ACT Comets. This team which is also called the Canberra Comets represents the Australian Capital Territory. During his time with Comets, Lyon was mentored by captain cum Coach Mark Higgs who helped him in learning the subtle arts of spin bowling, making his bowling action smooth, as well as plenty of tactical knowledge about bowling to certain batsmen and to certain field settings.
On 26 July 2011, Lyon was selected in the Australian Test squad for its tour of Sri Lanka. Later Lyon was given his Test cap by Greg Chappell and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Galle on 31 August 2011.
Since then, on 23 occasions Lyon has taken five or more wickets in an innings and on four occasions he has captured ten wickets in a match. It is a very good record. Even if he does not overtake Warne, he still can have the satisfaction of having set an example that will provide inspiration to young off spin bowlers of Australia for many years to come.
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