For some reason I’ve always thought Nathan Lyon was French.
Maybe it was the surname that put me off. Maybe it is his close resemblance to any American blockbuster action movie’s antagonist, who is for some reason is always European.
But it turns out that dearly beloved Garry is and has never been a French national, just an Aussie through and through.
I should’ve guessed for his love of cricket.
He burst onto the scene by taking a wicket with his first ball – a promising sign for the selectors – and since then hasn’t stopped taking wickets.
Lyon is one of those spinners you not only select in your Test squad when travelling to Asia but the first name you put in the XI no matter where you’re playing. His main attribute obviously is turning the ball, but he embodies what the baggy green is all about – fight.
Whether he’s batting at 11, fielding fine leg or carrying the bottles around the ground, he always has a distinctive look on his face. It’s the face of a fighter. Not a moment goes by without him thinking about his next move.
We all know he’s not a specialist white-ball bowler and isn’t selected very often to play for the ODI and T20 sides, but that’s okay. Garry doesn’t possess a killer arm ball or a mind-boggling doosra, but he has one thing that makes him the best Test spinner in the world, and that’s persistence.
Persistence is one of the main factors in making a great Test cricketer. Young kids are more likely to watch the BBL than a Boxing Day Test match – long-form cricket, after all, is boring when there aren’t sixes flying off the bat or stumps cartwheeling in Test cricket. You have to stay patient with bat and ball to reap your rewards, and the longer you’re patient, the greater your return will be.
There is nothing flashy about Test cricket – and there’s nothing flashy about Nathan Lyon. No side tricks or fancy hairstyles. He calls a spade a spade and gets on with it. He’s a man of simple philosophy: never give up.
I can recall watching The Test and seeing Nathan Lyon squandering a run-out chance to get the last wicket Australia needed to retain the Ashes of 2019. He was gutted but immediately picked himself up and bowled the perfect delivery to Ben Stokes, striking him on the pad. The appeal was given not out despite close examination showing that Stokes should have been dismissed. Australia would have reviewed it had Tim Paine now blown his last review on a worthless LBW shout moments before.
It just shows that no matter the obstacles, Garry finds a way.
To have the ability to bite down on your teeth and grind your way to wickets is what makes a skilful bowler, and in Test cricket and Lyon certainly carries that with him where ever he goes.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
"The averages don't lie" Lyon's average in Aus is 32.97 and at the MCG it is 33.58, that's a Tom Thumb not a skyrocket! In Aus Steve Smith averages 67.71, but in Adelaide he drops all the way to 54.77, couldn't pick him for that could you under your reasoning? Perth stadium only 29.5 (from 1 match) Bellerive 44.5 from 2 matches. It 's hard bowling spin in Australia, many, many, brilliant spinners haven't performed well here and when you have to bowl against the Indian players who are brought up on it it's going to be tough. Lyon didn't bowl well this year, just like plenty of our batsmen didn't bat well, doesn't mean he's a spent force. SA will be tough, the pitches aren't spin friendly, lets hope the batsmen give all the bowlers something to work with.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Lyons average at perth is 16 , adelaide 28 and Brisbane was below 30 before the Indians toured .all of these averages slipped a little this series but it’s clear mcg and scg he’s always been higher and benefited last season against poor batsman there against pakistan which improved those averages and make them look better than they are in recent years . Melb av 34 and scg at 41 av are poor and yes that’s two grounds that skyrocket up . He’s clearly not as effective at mcg and scg and it’d pretty easy to understand that unless you’ve got bias or blinkers on. The averages don’t lie and I pointed it out pre match this year and also two years ago had concerns when india toured at the same two grounds for lyon. We didn’t win one match out of the four and we’re beaten in all four including a draw where england racked up 630 with rain effecting match . Lyon wasn’t good enough at those venues four times. Was always going to be a factor for me sadly
Lawrence
Roar Rookie
Lyon is a stock bowler, rarely goes through an innings. Very poor series against India, couldn’t get the job done on 2 day 5 pitches. Was terrible in the Shield too. Had a good 1st test in Ashes but was benign after that. Looks very tired, has bowled a lot of balls and it’s starting to show, hardly any revs or drift. Time to give Swepson a go.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
But l agree that he starts off well but doesn't take a bag like spinner's are spose to on the 4th n 5th.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
There is a load of bs being promoted about Boof's tenure as coach. It wasn't as bad as it's being reported now. It's become the new Ian Chappell bowled underarm
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Cool work JN. I get lost searching google for stats.
Gee
Roar Rookie
Good point, India figured him out after two test last series & they have dominated him ever since.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Nathan Lyon starts off every series as a very good bowler and remains like that for the first 2-3 Tests, whether he takes wickets or not. However, if he has to play a 4th Test or more, he becomes innocuous as the batsmen are used to him...it's the fault of the Australian management that they refused to look at the stats and analyze it as it would save them a lot of pain. He seems like a nice guy...albeit someone who went off the rails during the culture of the Lehmann era but is back again.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Actually I decided to actually check the ESPN stats for 2020..interesting stuff. Lyon is nr 2 spin bowler in terms of wickets taken… 14 wickets in 5 innings at an impressive avg of 18, 5 per wicket… Pakistans Yasir Shah is 1st having taken 18 wickets in 9 innings at an avg of 35 per wicket.. So. Maybe I got this one wrong . Just looking at recent India series Lyon was poor really but that should not detract from the bigger picture.. Incidentally he finished 2019 all bowlers in 2nd spot behind Pat Cummins on the ESPN cric info scale.. Easily the best spinner. So my apologies to the author..
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Nice point Peter.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Is he the highest wicket taking spin bowler at the moment? That could be his thing
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Just put the blutty thing up and outside.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Skyrockets????? You must have had some dud cracker nights growing up Pierro! :laughing: Overall in Aus Lyon averages near enough to 33. At the MCG his average is 33.5, at the SCG 41. Still taking 4 wickets a match. 2 tests at Perth Stadium have been very good for him but 5 at the WACA giving an average of 48 shows bounce isn't the only thing which matters. And of course some tracks in various countries help on occasions as well as bowling last etc. That's why we average tallies. It doesn't bounce in India, interestingly 7 tests and hasn't played at the same ground twice!
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Best Test spinner in the World? OK I'm not sure about that claim.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Lyon has bowled best at adelaide dn , perth and gabba with averaged under 30 . His averages at mcg and scg skyrocket and that was last time I looked before the indian series . Mcg and scg have lacked bounce . Gabba was played late season and lacked as much bounce this time . Lyon was poor at scg as expected in particular with his poor average . As for overseas I've not analysed as much but there are certainly grounds in uk that fsvor lyon more than others . Sa pitches in joberg often have some venom and bounce although centurion can conjure up some big totals and be a bit flatter
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Don’t forget the pull shot as well Paul! Start at 2 minutes 20 seconds! https://www.cricket.com.au/video/day-two-highlights-australia-india-gabba-test-brisbane-paine-rohit-lyon-cummins/2021-01-16
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Wrong re Lyon needs bounce. The wickets with the most bounce in the world would be SA and Aus. Lyon has his worst return in the UAE but it is SA and Aus where his average is highest, Sri Lanka is about par with his Aus average. So there's lots of bounce in WI, India, NZ, Bangladesh and England? Would be news to them! :stoked:
Hades
Roar Rookie
He's a great team player as well. Bowls his heart out everytime. Old school workhorse :thumbup:
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Y’know, I reckon I may have under-appreciated Lyon’s contribution over his 100 tests. A good measure of a bowler’s impact is the number of wickets he takes per Test because you have to take 20 of ’em to win a Test match. Given he’s sitting on 399 wickets after 100 Tests, I don’t need a calculator to work out that he’s taken 3.99 wickets per Test. That compares reasonably well to other Australian bowlers. Even Lillee (5.07 per Test). Warne (4.88 per Test) and McGrath (4.54) are not miles ahead. And Lyon compares well to Johnson (4.20), McDermott (4.09), Brett Lee (4.07) and Big Merv (4.00). He’s in the same ball-park. And who were Australia’s off-spinners before Nathan? Bruce Yardley (3.8) and Greg Matthews (1.8). Hats off Nathan. You’ve done okay, ol’ boy.
Paul
Roar Guru
A really nice piece. Lyon is a far more talented cricketer than many give him credit for. His fielding and catching are often ignored but he's taken some great catches over the years and I remember a great run out against the Poms a few years back. The one thing I'd like to see him do before he retires, is make a Test 50. I reckon he'd get more pleasure out of that, than he would from taking 400 wickets. I'd love to sit down and have a beer with him, just to have a chat. He seems like the sort of bloke who'd be great have a yarn with. And yes, he can bowl a bit too. :happy: