Nathan Lyon is a 27 years old wonderful off spinner of Team Australia. He has created an amazing record as soon as he took the wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite of West Indies, during day two of the second Test in Jamaica. After achieving this feat Nathan Lyon has become most successful off-spinner in Australian Test match history.
Lyon, had made debut in 2011 and while playing his 41st Test, overtook the legendary Hugh Trumble with his 142nd Test wicket as he bowled Brathwaite to leave the West Indies in trouble at 2-9 in response to Australia’s first-innings total of 399.
The dashing cricketer took 1-20 and 2-67 in the first Test in Dominica to draw level with Trumble. But typically the off spinner, showing maturity, downplayed the significance of scaling a record that has stood for 111 years when he spoke ahead of last week’s series opener.
Lyon said, “I’m not worried about personal numbers. I’ll sit back at the end of my career with my family and friends and have a beer over that,”
He further added, “But I’m worried about winning Test match series for Australia. That’s all I care about.”
It is quite significant that the former net bowler and curator’s assistant has become the youngest Australian finger spinner to reach 100 Test wickets. Lyon had already reached that mark almost 18 months ago against England at the MCG, while he was just 26 years and 38 days, when he bowled Tim Bresnan on his way to second-innings figures of 5-50. He had to wait for six months to achieve this land mark after the NSW spinner had been left out of the XI for the first two Tests of the 2013 Ashes tour of the British Isles.
Lyon however did not give up and recovered well from the setback, returning for the third Test in Manchester and has made his value clear since, duly supported by his 23 wickets during last summer’s Commonwealth Bank Test series against India.
But he will always be remembered for his performance on the final day of an emotional Test at Adelaide Oval last year that would likely stand out strongest in the minds of cricket fans. In that match, at one stage, India with eight wickets in hand, needed 159 runs from 37 overs, with Lyon having toiled throughout the day for 1-101 from his 21 overs. But thereafter Lyon bowled his spell of a life time as he stepped up in style, finally breaking the potentially match-winning partnership between Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay as he removed the latter for 99. Lyon Finally ripped through India, taking 7-152 and finishing with match figures of 12-286, sealing Australia’s 48-run victory.
Thus by scaling this 111 years old record, he has once again proved his mettle and established that he is truly a match winner and a potential bowler who can change the fate of Australian off spin attack for a long time.