Nathan Lyon is joining James Anderson at Lancashire next year and it wouldn’t be a great surprise if the Australian spinner plays Test cricket into his 40s like his new county teammate.
Lyon is just five wickets away from becoming only the eighth player in Test cricket history to reach the 500 milestone.
Even though he turned 36 a couple of weeks ago, what’s stopping him playing another four or five years?
The way his Ashes campaign ended with a torn calf at Lord’s could keep the fire burning for another trip to the UK in 2027.
Anderson has managed to prolong his Test career past his 41st birthday and without denigrating Lyon’s work as an off-spinner, the English seamer has put many more miles in his legs over the course of his 20-plus years at the professional level.
Nathan Lyon. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
On a similar front, Glenn Maxwell could do likewise in the T20 arena.
While he can stand upright (moving his feet is apparently optional) he should be a fixture in the national T20 team and probably the one-day squad too.
The selectors need to refresh Australia’s ageing sides but that doesn’t mean they can’t be strategic in allowing certain players like Lyon and Maxwell in their favoured formats to go beyond their 30s if their form is warranted.
NFL star Tom Brady is a modern example of athletes still being able to dominate past their 40th birthday and NBA kingpin LeBron James is a little more than a year away from doing the same with little to no sign of the Lakers record-breaker slowing down.
What the Australian selectors need to avoid at all costs is a situation where they have a bunch of veterans in any of the three formats continuing on past their use-by date and an inexperienced cohort of new players thrown into the deep end.
Lyon is not only holding his spot but is arguably the best Test spinner in the world along with Ravichandran Ashwin – he finished equal top alongside Kagiso Rabada for most wickets in 2022 with 47 and is second only to his Indian rival (40-38) this year.
When it comes to Lyon’s rivals on the spin front, Todd Murphy is the heir apparent but Tanveer Sangha is already on the fast track to the top.
Murphy is 23, Sangha just 22 so both are still very young at an art form which most spinners don’t master until much later in their careers compared to seamers, batters and wicketkeepers.
While Sangha was in India for the World Cup as a travelling reserve to soak up the experience of being in an Australian team dressing room, Murphy has been slogging it out at Shield level.
He’s slogged it out to take seven wickets at 58.71 from four appearances but Lyon has also found the going tough with just four scalps in three games.
While white-ball specialist Adam Zampa is all but resigned to never playing Test cricket after missing out on the trip to India earlier this year, Maxwell is yet to give up on a baggy green recall to add to the seven matches on his resume.
The bad news for the contenders to Lyon’s throne is that there is unlikely to be a need for a second spinner until the tour of Sri Lanka in early 2025.
In the five Tests coming up at home against Pakistan and the West Indies, the two-match tour of New Zealand and the five-game visit from India in the next Australian summer, there will only be a need for one spinner and unless injury or a dramatic form slump strike, that will be Lyon.
Lyon has always been durable – the Lord’s Test was his 100th on the trot before a rare injury sent him home early.
And he’s kept himself in good physical shape so another five years at the top is not out of the question.
The late, great Shane Warne’s fitness fluctuated throughout his career but he was able to play into his late 30s.
Colin “Funky” Miller bowls at Melbourne in 2000. (Photo: Robert Cianflone/ALLSPORT)
Living in his shadow were Stuart MacGill, Brad Hogg and Bryce McGain and by the time Warne retired, they were also in their mid to late 30s and either couldn’t keep up with the demands of Test cricket or were belted off the scene.
Australia have had several spinners who were still going strong well into their 30s.
Colin Miller was 37 when he was named Test player of the year at the AB Medal in 2001, Bob Holland was 38 with the grey hair to prove it when he made his debut in 1984 while it’s unlikely Bert Ironmonger’s record of being a few months shy of his 47th birthday when he played his first match in 1928 will ever be broken.
Old Bertie, who managed to take 74 wickets in 14 Tests despite having the index finger on his left bowling hand amputated after an accident as a child, played for Australia until he was nearly 51.
Hard to see Lyon lasting that long.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I certainly forgot to mention them
matth
Roar Guru
Swepson and Kuhnemann are the forgotten men. Swepson in particular is still taking wickets
jammel
Roar Rookie
But if Lyono plays until he is 43/44, how many wickets will he end up with!?!
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
The English great, off spinner Ray Illingworth, played tests till he was 41 years of age. His test economy rate was 1.91. Go on Garry!!
Lance Boil
Roar Rookie
My favourite Australian Cricketer. First picked, in my view. I've read here before suggestions his primary role is to tie up an end! What utter nonsense. He is a deadly weapon.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Lyon didn't do enough enough in his early-mid 20s to justify further selection in the Test side.
All day Roseville all day
Roar Guru
Wars interrupted a few careers, extended careers partly due to much less demanding schedules as well- Ironmonger- f/c debut 1909/10 aged 27, last match aged 53 Grimmett- f/c debut 1911/2 aged 20, last match aged 49 Mailey- f/c debut 1912/13 aged 26, last match aged 44 Don Blackie- f/c debut 1924/25 aged 42, last match aged 51 Bill O'Reilly- played until 1945/46 Ian Johnson- f/c debut 1935/36, played until mid-1950s Doug Ring- f/c debut 1938/39 Colin McCool- f/c debut 1939/40 George Tribe- f/c debut 1945/46 Jack Iverson- old when made f/c debut 1949/50
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
If Lyon is fit, selectors have two choices; a) play him in every Test till form and/or fitness desert him or he retires or b) manage his workload so he plays selects Tests or series in exactly the same way as they've tried to do with the quicks. Both are their jobs because both involve making selection choices. Which option do you suggest they go with?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Grimmet is Capricorn and they tend to blossom late. Head has also blossomed late. All things equal he’ll be there aged 38. ——- He was also the first to 200 and it took over 60 greats of the game to overtake him in getting to 200 quicker. Look up those names who couldn’t do it as quick and people will begin to understand the enormity of what he did.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Lyon shouldn’t have Anderson’s fitness issues - although that leg injury at Lords was a worry - so why not keep going as long as possible. Can keep refining his art in the Shield. Clarrie Grimmett, who started his fantastic Test career aged 33 was another spinner who blossomed late. Grimmett got 244 wickets from only 37 Tests in 11 years, with way fewer matches in those days. He had a better average than Warne in a high-scoring era, and more wickets per Test. His bowling partner Bill O’Reilly, who was equally good but debuted at a youthful, 26 came back after WWII aged 40 to almost single handedly put paid to Kiwi aspirations to be treated by Australia as worthy of Test status for 25+ years. The Tiger took a combined 8/33 as NZ were bowled out for 42 and 54 in Wellington. Grimmett and O’Reilly both make AllDayRoseville’s excellent best ever world XI born in December, published a couple of days ago on the Roar.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
“I’d still like him to go that step further Paul and allow selectors to pick and choose which Tests or Test series he should play.” Pretty sure selectors do pick and choose players as they see fit, yes? That’s literally their job…
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Rocchi, Murphy, Sangha, Manenti are all thereabouts. The GOAT had better perform or he coukd be put out to pasture. I think Rocchi is a very good bowler. He pushes the ball well with flight, drift, drop & turn. Pretty excellent really.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I hope the Windies do too. I don't like the tail wagging the dog re Warner. We need to blood an opener now to get them acclimatised to the team, etc, and then springboard into England-lite conditions of NZ and go with a few consecutive tests under their belt to face India on their tracks. Why this is not happening l have no clues; just no clues.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I'm guessing Murphy has the inside running, given his Ashes Tests experience, but the nice thing is there seem to be a lot of good spin options. Rocchiocolli has certainly been impressive so far this year.
Ace
Roar Rookie
Ben Manenti from South Australia seems an experienced Offie who is very handy with the bat...only 27 yo Probably would not get that far down the list though with Lyon, Murphy, Sangha and Rocchiocolli ahead
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Yep I like him too. Gritty with the bat as well.
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Rocchiocolli has the most wickets of any spinner this season with a bunch at the WACA. Economical too.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
I hope Pakistan throw a few punches & it’s a hard fought contest. Then as you suggest Cummins growth as a captain takes shape.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I'd still like him to go that step further Paul and allow selectors to pick and choose which Tests or Test series he should play. We seem to have a crop of very useful spinners coming through and it won't hurt them to get more experience at Test level, in case Lyon suddenly pulls the pin. It would not be good if we had a repeat of the search for a new spinner when Warnie retired
Paul Suttor
Expert
Lyon, not by his own choosing, is following a similar path to Anderson, who cut the limited-overs formats from his workload in his mid 30s