NEWS
Follow Us36-year-old Australian offspinner Nathan Lyon has played 129 Tests and picked up 530 wickets, including 24 five-wicket and five 10-wicket hauls. Despite achieving so much, Lyon feels he is still living in “the shadow of Shane Warne”.
Lyon, who made his Test debut in 2011, is currently the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. The offspinner is still 178 wickets behind the late Shane Warne, who finished his career with 708 wickets in 145 Tests at an average of 25.41.
“I probably struggled with it early doors because you would be trying your hardest every game, but I feel like the media and the Australian public were asking, ‘who’s the next spinner? We need a spinner to do what Shane Warne did on the last day,'” Lyon told Sky Cricket.
“And I’m 10 matches into my first-class career. I’m never going to be able to do what Warnie did. Warnie’s once-in-a-generation, he’s the greatest to play the game in my opinion.
“I still feel in the shadow of Shane Warne now and I’m 129 Test matches in with 530 wickets. The thing is, I’m happy with that, and I’m comfortable with that now.
"A lot of us felt the pressure of Shane Warne’s shadow… and it probably took me a good five, six, seven years to understand that pressure is a privilege. And if you’ve got pressure, you’re doing OK, enjoy it.”
Lyon’s next assignment is the blockbuster five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth. The offspinner has played 27 Tests against India, picking up 121 wickets at an average of 31.6.
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