Fresh off match figures of 10/118 at the SCG, stocks in Nathan Lyon have probably never been higher than they are right now.
The man with a shortlist of sensational nicknames – GOAT, Garry, Gazza – has firmly cemented himself into the upper echelon of spin bowlers. That statement may feel like slight hyperbole to some, but Lyon has earnt his praise.
Despite bursting on the scene Lyon has long felt like a quiet achiever, providing stable performances and getting clapped for when he exceeded expectations. This is no longer the case.
When discussing the Australian cricket team, the spotlight is typically on top-order batsmen (David Warner and Steve Smith) and the fast bowling cartel. It must be noted this summer has felt like a long welcoming party for Marnus Labuschange.
The fact is aesthetics matter, and watching Warner take on the new ball or Pat Cummins bowling the likes of the gem that bowled Ross Taylor in Monday’s play is why the majority of casual fans come to the cricket ground. Subsequently, people tend to like to read and talk about these things as well.
Lyon, and off-spin bowling in general, has a tendency to not be as visually pleasing. Lyon is a traditional off-spinner who rarely rips the ball dramatically. Despite his limitations, Lyon excels by relying on a combination of tactical nous, flight, dip, natural variation and consistency of line and length.
I find spin bowling one of sport’s great art forms; never boring, always intriguing. However, regardless of your views on the visual appeal of continual stock balls and mental battles, its effectiveness over nearly a decade is undeniable.
Long before behind Australia’s flashy Test cricket resurgence, from a very rare away Ashes victory to a typical summer of cricket as Australia feasted on what looked like two teams completely out of its depth; Nathan Lyon has been a constant. Accurate, reliable, consistent, valuable and holding down an end allowing some of the world’s best fast bowlers to continually build pressure.
It’s time we recognise his greatness.
(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A former Adelaide Oval ground staff member, Lyon’s rise to the baggy green was swift compared to many. The leading wicket-taker in 2010-11 BBL for the Redbacks, he debuted for South Australia in February 2011 before an Australian call up in August 2011 (aged 23) where Lyon became just the third Australian to take a wicket with his first ball and first since 1894.
His first ball victim? The great Kumar Sangakarra.
Lyon entered the Australian cricket team selection discussion when selectors were still stuck in a post-Shane Warne spin cycle. From Nathan Hauritz to Jon Holland and even Beau Casson; if you showed moderate talent in the spin bowling space you were given a shot.
Naturally, most spinners getting picked came with huge expectations and unfortunately most folded trying to deliver while playing in the enormous shadow of the greatest leg spinner we have seen.
Lyon would hold down his position as Australian number one spinner for two years. Things got a bit more volatile approaching the 2013 Ashes. Despite taking match figures of 9/165 in a losing effort to India in Chennai in March; Lyon would be dropped for the Ashes in July in favour of the flavour of the month Ashton Agar.
Despite returning for the third Test in Manchester, a shift in how the inner ranks of Cricket Australia viewed Lyon had clearly occurred. Selectors found themselves once again searching for the flamboyant prestigious talent rather than the consistent, reliable overs offered by Lyon.
Despite struggling to cement a spot in the shorter forms of the game, Lyon would rarely have to ever prove his worth again when wearing the whites. Lyon would do so via the weight of numbers and match-winning performances.
Over the following years Lyon would slowly build the GOAT resume. He reached 100 Test wickets by December 2013 before passing Hugh Trumble with his 143rd wicket in June 2015 to become Australia’s leading off-spin wicket-taker.
200 Test wickets by July 2016, more Test wickets than anyone in the world in 2017 and Australian men’s Test player of the year in 2018. He finished 2019 as Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker of all-time behind only Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.
In addition to the duration and regularity of his success, Lyon has produced similar figures both home and away – slightly superior away as you would expect. Providing a wicket-taking outlet for what is now collection of captains regardless of the conditions; a priceless commodity.
Producing on the dust bowls throughout Asia and on the flat roads at home, Lyon’s reliance on his ability rather than conditions has certainty contributed to his overall value.
He provided top match figures for an Australian in Asia (13/154 against Bangladesh) and the best innings figures by a visiting bowler in India (8/50). Lyon has taken five wickets in an innings against every opponent he has faced and produced vital match-winning Ashes performances including his 5/50 second innings haul against England in the 2013 Boxing Day Test and more recently 6/49 when ripping through England in the first Test at Birmingham in 2019.
Versatile, consistent and damaging; Lyon is a bona fide match-winner.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
As mentioned earlier Lyon has limitations. He often fails to drop his speed below 86-88kph when it seems beneficial, can be expensive, can be predictable and fails to turn the bowl dramatically on a consistent basis.
However, I believe at this point we are cherry-picking weaknesses in a game that has provided such success. Lyon is what he is, and everything says he is very, very good.
Currently the 16th highest wicket-taker of all time and basically a lock to finish top ten (43 wickets required), Lyon now has more Test wickets than a long list of some of cricket’s most famous names. In 2020 Lyon will likely go past Curtly Ambrose, Wasim Akram and possibly even Dale Steyn.
It’s a serious resume put together by a master of his craft.
Lyon has long passed Hugh Trumble in terms of wickets by an Australian off-spinner, and has no peers when discussing off-spin bowlers for his country. Remarkably, Lyon has separated himself from all spin bowling peers to such a degree comparisons to Warne no longer seem required.
As part of the generation that grew up mimicking Warne in the backyard, we now hear “niiiice Gary” when we hit the nets. Nathan Lyon is iconic.
He is the GOAT off-spinner, and he will be for quite a while.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Hi Thomas, they did produce similar figures, they had better averages! So Lyon has only gone by them in the sense of aggregates. As you say, the question is what is the appropriate sample size. If someone like Mallett did it over 10 years and Trumble over 14 years you are, it’s a pretty solid sample. Marnus’s sample size is still way too small. But there are other factors that come into it, which may give reason to discount their averages versus Lyon. Eg Trumble did it in an era of very low scoring, and only against India. Lyon has done it in a wider range of countries than Mallett, and in an era where scoring has been a bit harder on Australian pitches, and India (against whom Mallett had a fantastic record) has been much stronger, which probably gives him the gong when you look at both aggregates and averages.
Nick
Roar Guru
By every metric, Lyon is in the top 5% of all spinners ever, and by far the best of the lot since Murali/Warne bid farewell. The only thing that stands between Lyon and Kumble is a lack of test cricket ahead. He's supremely fit, and no other spinner in the shield is offering meaningful competition for his spot.
Ryan Harries
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I agree. Both Warne and Murali are complete outliers in every aspect. Nothing about there records is normal. Even more remarkable to think if you take Warne and Murali away, i'd give Lyon a very sneaky chance to catch Kumble (619) and retire as the leading wicket taker of all time. Agree on his average, at first glance 31.5 looks a bit high however it places him below Herath but in front of the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Vettori. It's more then just a pass mark. We are really only discussing and comparing Lyon with very fine slow bowlers.
Ryan Harries
Roar Rookie
Hi DaveJ, Comparing eras in any sport is always tough work. The deeper you look the more variables that come into play and the more angles one can take in assessing a player. Warne & Murali live on a planet on there own but I put Lyon in the conversation with anyone else. I guess I am putting significant value on his long jeopardy which as you pointed out players from previous eras did not have the annual volume of tests to produce those career figures. I think when you look at comparisons and quantity vs quality you have to look at what happened and not the potential for what could of happened. Lyon has delivered and those listed above delivered; yet in such a smaller sample size. Take for example if Labuschagne retired tomorrow. 14 tests at 63. I really cant use this sample to start comparing Marnus to say Laxman who averaged only 45 but scored almost 9000 runs or Ian Chappell averaging just 42 however doing so over 16 years. I think Mallett and Trumble were front runners pre-Lyon. However for me the sheer volume and consistency of Lyon's performances means he has gone straight by them. To place these bowlers above Lyon you are assuming they would of produced similar figures given the opportunity. Lyon has produced the figures and I think that's a defining factor (regardless of what may be a slight injustice to those of previous eras).
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
I definitely think he deserves consideration as a great of Australian cricket, given his longevity and consistency. A bit harder to say he’s one of the great spinners like Warne, Murali, O’Reilly, Underwood and Laker as there is a big gap between and the levels they reached in terms of averages/wickets per game/ match winning performances, even when you take into account having to play a lot of home games during an era of relatively flat Australian pitches. The trouble with all these lists of wicket takers and run scorers is that they favour the recent era when a hell of a lot more Tests are played. To take an obvious example, Chaminda Vaas took the same number of Test wickets as Dennis Lillee - 355 - but played 41 more Tests, and no one would put them on the same pedestal. Ashley Mallett, an offspinner who played in Lillee’s era, played a similar number of years as Lyon, but only played in 38 Tests, while having a better average than Lyon - 30 vs 32. Apart from having fewer opportunities, he also had to compete with leg spinning rivals favoured in Australia, like Jenner, O’Keeffe and Gleeson. How do you compare quality as opposed to quantity? Does he really have no peers when looking at the likes of Mallett and Trumble?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
The lack of blow up dolls in his repertoire has left Lyon’s personality appearing a little deflated to some. But he’s done great.
Ryan Harries
Roar Rookie
Hi JGK, Ahh of course. An oversight on my behalf. Thanks for pointing it out. I tell you what though, it sure felt like a victory and I certainty celebrated like one. Agreed, his consistency in performance and across different conditions is one of Lyon's more valuable traits.
JGK
Roar Guru
from a very rare away Ashes victory Small point but it wasn't a victory (although it would have been if Lyon had bowled to his usual standard after the first Test). When adjusted for the fact that half his career has beeb on Australian wickets, Lyon's record stands up to pretty much any orthodox finger spinner's of the last 30 years. He is remarkably consistent no matter where he bowls.
Capt Jack
Roar Rookie
That soul you speak of is probably what Mike Hussey saw in him when to most peoples shock he anointed him the song leader.
Capt Jack
Roar Rookie
Tim Paine keeping to Nathan Lyons bowling. What a joy to watch two masters of their craft combining together. For me the best since Healy / Warne.
Ryan Harries
Roar Rookie
Thanks Paul, appreciate it. I personally feel the Warne comments were more "hot take" material that an actual belief. Warne has previously stated Lyon is our best ever off spinner. His 32 at home in a winning side that is hardly full of potential retirees. Swepson will get his chance but Lyon was never missing that test if fit. Certainly agree regarding the past couple of years. Surely his current form will hold for at least another 1-2. I think catching Warne is probably just out of the question but catching McGrath is certainly on the cards and cementing the 1-2 spots of leading wicket takers for Australia as spinners would do his legacy no harm.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Bowled..........Thomas! A very good opinion piece. I'm an unapologetic fan of Lyon and think he is the soul of the team. I would still like to find out why he wasn't made captain after sandpapergate. No disrespect implied to Paine but who had the more test experience and was guaranteed a place every time a side was picked. Will probably never know. A terrific player.
Ryan Harries
Roar Rookie
Its a good point Rafiqul. It does seem the balance between being effective and being exciting gets easily blurred especially for spin bowlers. If anything, Lyon should be an example to many that you don't need all the tools in the shed to be successful.
Paul
Roar Guru
I’m probably biased because I too could sit and watch top class spinners bowl hour after hour. This was a really good first piece, thanks for submitting it, Thomas. One of Lyon’s early difficulties was finding a skipper who trusted him. He’d get thrown the ball but I don’t get the impression Clarke and co though much of his bowling. Certainly the press didn’t with the number of times they and other media decided he was no good and should be sacked. Sadly that’s still the case with a certain SK Warne suggesting he should have been dropped for the Sydney Test. Funnily, I haven’t heard boo from Mr Warne about this, since Lyon took 10 for the match and was a genuine MOM candidate. You mentioned Lyon being an old fashioned spinner and that’s true in another sense. Prior to the advent of Warne, spinners were not thought to be at their peak until they’d turned 30 and this seems to be the case with Lyon. Certainly his best years appear to have been the past 2 or 3. Greatness can be measured in a number of ways but the telling stat for me is his effectiveness in Australia versus his peers. He’s consistently outbowled other more highly fancied finger spinners from other countries. One interesting thing Warne & Michael Vaughan discussed on the TV coverage was just how close Lyon might get to Warne’s record before he calls it a day. Warne seemed to think he would certainly pass McGrath and might even take Warne as top wicket taker in Australia. It’d be hard to question his greatness if he achieved that feat.
Paul
Roar Guru
Really good comment. It's funny to think of him in those terms Matt, but you're absolutely right, he deserves to be mentioned with the greats of the spin bowling fraternity in this country.
matth
Roar Guru
Well said. It’s a heck of a resume. Australian spinning royalty now reads Warne, Benaud, O’Reilly, Grimmett and GOAT.
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
:thumbdown:
Nick
Roar Guru
He's good. He has a record that puts him in the greats. Warne and Murali are the leg-spin and off-spin anomalies that are equivalent to Bradman with the bat. No leg spinner will be better than Warne, no off spinner will be better than Murali. The fact that Lyon will probably finish second to Murali in the wickets category is a damn fine effort. His average is pretty much on point for an off spinner as well (again, Warne and Murali have ridiculous averages for spinners in the era of covered pitches).
elvis
Roar Rookie
I'd happily give up 100 opposition wickets to be spared another Aussie carrying on like a pork chop. Lyon's attitude and demeanor are a credit to himself and his upbringing.
Tony Tea
Roar Rookie
Lyon has looked like a good Test bowler from debut. But he's always been unlucky, and he has never been able to take wickets with his personality like Warne. He could conceivably have taken another 100 wickets with a little extra luck and in-your-face attitude.