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My public apology to Nathan Lyon

Roar Guru
4th March, 2013
6

I never would have thought I’d be quoting Joni Mitchell but these are desperate times, cricket lovers.

So what if it’s about the environment?

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”.

Garry, I’m sorry.

Things in Chennai were tough, I know. There were some good times, Sachin through the gate, Kholi to a dreadful slog.

And there were bad times. Bad times named MS Dhoni.

But he did that because he had to. It was actually a mark of respect.

Every Dhoni has his day. And the Indian captain had his in Madras.

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And then it was gone. The perfect storm. Panic set in.

Looking for people to blame, the selectors overlooked a batting top-order with a combined two centuries from its last 94 Test innings. They swept a dodgy keeper under the carpet. They took the soft kill.

So Maxwell came in to replace Henriques, only he couldn’t replace Henriques because he was one of two players who actually batted well in the first Test. So Maxwell replaced Starc.

And Doherty replaced you. Would spin the ball away, they must’ve thought. Tie up an end, all that sort of stuff. India is 1/311.

My heart has grown stronger in your absence.

I know I’ve cracked jokes at your expense in the past. About the hideous exaggeration of your story, where the media would have us believe you’re some sort of cricketing Good Will Hunting, who grew up as a groundsman until under the blanket of Adelaide Oval darkness you were uncovered as some sort of skinny Tim May.

But not anymore.

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Huss gave you the song to stop this very thing from happening. I should have seen the signs. He believed – John Inverarity obviously didn’t.

Mickey Arthur should save us the crap about you playing 19 consecutive Tests and needing a rest and a chance to work on some things. He should put his hands up, like the rest of us, and say what we now all know.

We need you Nathan Lyon, it just took day two in Hyderabad to realise it.

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