Much has been written and spoken about Australia’s fast bowling stocks after the drawn Ashes series.
We’re in the enviable position of having at least three bowlers capable of producing high-quality performances on just about any surface – Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson – while others like Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc can do an excellent job on their day if conditions are right.
Throw in a returning Jhye Richardson and it’s hard to think of a more potent squad of talented fast bowlers in Australian cricket history.
Cummins and Hazlewood were the two standout fast bowlers in the Ashes. Both took 20 wickets or more and neither averaged more than 22 runs per wicket, which are terrific figures.
Spare a thought, though, for ‘Garry’ – Nathan Michael Lyon. He had an Ashes series of two parts, as the table below shows. These are Lyon’s bowling figures for each innings of the Ashes series.
| Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | RPO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43.5 | 8 | 112 | 3 | 2.55 |
| 20.0 | 5 | 49 | 6 | 2.45 |
| 19.1 | 2 | 68 | 3 | 3.54 |
| 26.0 | 3 | 102 | 0 | 3.92 |
| 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| 39.0 | 5 | 114 | 2 | 2.92 |
| 36.0 | 4 | 89 | 0 | 2.47 |
| 29.0 | 12 | 51 | 2 | 1.75 |
| 4.0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 24.3 | 5 | 69 | 4 | 2.81 |
Lyon must have thought bowling in England was wonderful after his first three innings produced 12 wickets at an average of 19.08. No doubt he would have changed his mind by the end of the series when the next seven innings yielded only another eight wickets at an average of 54.88.
Twenty wickets in an Ashes series is certainly something to be proud of, but there’s little doubt Lyon would be disappointed ending up with an average of 33.40.
So what happened to derail Lyon’s Ashes campaign?
(AP Photo/Jon Super)
There were probably a variety of factors. The pitches tended to favour the faster bowlers, certainly after the First Test. England also adapted their method of playing Lyon, with Joe Root in particular almost camped on his back foot, letting the ball come to him and playing as late as he could. Others attacked him, and Lyon’s response was to bowl just that little bit quicker, which largely negated his flight and dip.
Missed chances were an issue, perhaps more so for Lyon than the other bowlers, with the exception of Pete Siddle. Lyon is a confidence bowler and his confidence must have dropped after being played relatively easily after that great First Test.
Finally, an injury to his bowling finger in the fourth Test meant he was nowhere near as effective as he should have been if fully fit, a fact highlighted by the returns from his English spin counterpart in the same games.
What cannot be underestimated is the value Lyon brings to this Australian team. The side needs a quality spinner, and he’s well and truly that. He also provides balance and is now so good he can tie up an end for long periods or be a serious attacking weapon, as he showed the first Test.
Selectors will no doubt be sweating on a fit and confident ‘Garry’ Lyon being ready to face Pakistan and New Zealand in this summer’s Tests. They’ll also be hoping more guys start to shine in Shield cricket, because after Lyon the cupboard looks pretty bare of Test-quality spinners.
Lyon will be 32 later this year, and assuming he doesn’t suffer a bad injury, he should be good to play Tests for another three or four years. He seems to still enjoy the game, so going back for another crack at England in four years is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Australian cricket fans should be hoping Lyon sticks around for a few more years. He’s exactly what we need as a spinner, but he also epitomises the sort of spirit we need in Australian cricket.
James
Roar Rookie
Bouncy wickets, lots of left-handers in the opposition, he will go alright.
Chris Love
Roar Guru
Was he really though? Lyon missed out on about 8 dismissals through poor umpiring this series. Not to mention several dropped catches.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
His fitness exactly the reason why I probably wouldn't of played him in the last Test of the Ashes. He's been having some significant issues with cuts / callouses on his spinning hand last couple of years. Definitely needs to be fit and ready come Australian Summer. Agar probably the next in line who at this stage I don't think he's quite at the main spinner level just yet
badmanners
Roar Rookie
We'll see how it works out when Leach comes to Australia.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Maybe Prior had one before?
RAGAV
Roar Rookie
What happened to Prior? He was dropped, I believe after the last Ashes in Austraila. Don't remember him getting a farewell Test.
RAGAV
Roar Rookie
If Lyon had completed the run-out, I don't think England would have been able to win a test at all in the series. They would have been forced to wait 4 more years before experiencing a Test win in the Ashes.
U
Roar Rookie
Acceptable? Maybe. But we have high expectations especially as some label him the GOAT and the best spinner in the world. He was outbowled by Leach in the last 4 tests
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Matt Prior in particular said it was karma.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
When he wasn't overpitching he was bowling too short and/or wide. He was struggling for sure but completing that runout would have deflected a lot of the attention he's had. .. The pommy fans gave him heaps over that btw. Most of them were keen to mention his 'we're going to end careers' quip.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
His accuracy was way off in the Third and Fourth tests. Overpitched too often, relaxing pressure on the batsmen. Has to be able to pitch it on the proverbial twenty cent piece to be a really effective spinner. Maybe the finger injury affected him, as well as the back foot approach from the Poms. Still, all would be forgiven if he’d fielded that runout at Headingly!
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Not trying to steal @badmanners thunder at all, but he might have picked up a few more wickets if we hadn't sent England in, twice. That's balanced out a bit by England sending us in once but I think it's fair to say he didn't get the best of the conditions as much as he could have. Also, apart from the one match Starc played in there were no left arm quicks from either side churning up the rough outside the right handers off stump. Throw in his finger soreness and I think he did pretty well. He really is our GOAT off spinner and I can't think of any others throughout our history who could/would have done better. .. As for the upcoming home series, he'll be as effective as ever. I haven't any figures to back this up but my feeling is that he is super valuable at home simply because he usually bowls so much better here than most of the visiting tweakers. As far as I can recall the last foreign offie to be genuinely dangerous here was Swann, and that was only for one series. The next time he came down here he smashed out of test cricket altogether. Even Murali struggled here, so that says something about how hard it is to bowl to test class players in Australia if you are a right arm off spinner.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
That's the old stats stuff again. What someone returns as a teenager or early 20s will never be comparable with what is delivered as they mature...especially for a spinner. Agar has had only one Shield season that hasn't been interupted and that year he had the highest wicket haul of all spinners, including Fawad and SOK. Lyon took seasons to get going. Long form will end up being Agar's best.
Paul
Roar Guru
I was listening to Shane Warne talk about Lyon and while I often question his comments about cricket generally, I listen closely when he talks about spin bowling. He was of the opinion Lyon's confidence slipped as Root and co started to play him better. He pointed out that Lyon gets much quicker through the air and even talked about how much faster he was getting through overs towards the end of the series, compared to the start when he was "relaxed & confident". That comment about that preparation you mentioned is interesting. I recall a story about Ritchie Benaud having exactly the same problem as Lyon and he used some ointment/lotion similar to what you've described.
Paul
Roar Guru
If we were talking about ODI or T20 cricket, I'd agree Don, but Agar has a very long way to go before he can take over from Lyon at Test level. 52 first class games for just 92 wickets, at an average close to 40 and a strike rate of 76, just doesn't stack up to Test quality IMO.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Yes Gee, those numbers are are pretty much par for his career where his average is slightly better away from home. If all the batsmen had done their job by scoring a few more runs and occupying the crease a bit longer he'd have a bit more rough to zero in on and create more chances. Don't start me on bowling first.
Gee
Roar Rookie
His finger was injured but he was bowling to English batsmen so 20 at 33 is acceptable. He not a great bowler but he is a very solid wherever he plays, unlike the batsmen.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
I agree that he is not a "confidence" bowler. He was full of poise despite the numbers not reflecting his quality in the Ashes. He had a role and he delivered...as always. If, however, he broke finger tomorrow, Ashton Agar would step in without a beat. Fitness, alone, is Agar's issue but he is absolutely teady to step in. He is Garry's Stuart Macgill.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Lyon can bowl till he is 40. I don't think Lyon is a 'confidence bowler' per se, rather, he allows the opposition to dictate where he drops it. It drove me bonkers how many times he went ATW. Also, and alas, he darted too many middle n legs. Very defensive. He needs to allow himself time for periods of introspection. This to regenerate that gleam he possesses when he is taking wickets at a sub-22 average. ------ I was speaking to some of the dust-bowl cricketers here and they say there is an ayurvedic preparation you can rub on your callouses to keep the skin supple and vital. They were all convinced that was his issue. You have no idea on how much the Indians followed the Ashes. I keep a little eye on test series that don't involve Australia but India is a whole other world.