'He's getting better' Lyon's bowling guru puts batters in a spin after shy country kid joins fabled 500 club
The Guardian|December 21, 2023
He’s got country boy hands, strong fingers, the ball looks completely at home in them,” says John Davison, aka the Spin Whisperer, the satisfaction in his Queensland burr plain to hear.
James Wallace
'He's getting better' Lyon's bowling guru puts batters in a spin after shy country kid joins fabled 500 club

“It’s a testament to his action and the work he’s put in over the years, he doesn’t put too much strain on his back or his knee, he could go on forever,” he says with a chuckle. It’s a statement that will terrify batters the world over and have great bowlers looking over their shoulders. Nathan Lyon has just chalked up his 500th (and 501st) Test wicket and doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

Lyon’s backstory and standing within the game will be pored over in the next few days and weeks. The landmark wicket of Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf in Perth, pinned lbw in classic Lyon fashion, will inevitably lead to talk of his origins and his future.

It’s some story. Lyon is a shy country kid from the town of Young in the South Western Slopes – “The Cherry Capital of Australia”. From playing against his brother, Brendan, in the backyard, his journey has led him to take on adults twice his size in club matches, moving as a teenager to play representative cricket in Canberra, and then on to Adelaide and an oft-mentioned stint carrying out curation (grounds person) duties at the Adelaide Oval while turning out in Grade cricket for nearby Prospect.

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