Australia’s Nathan Lyon is seen during the third day of the second Test against India in Adelaide.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Past the Don Bradman statue frozen in an evocative drive, the Adelaide Oval remains a hallowed territory. Inside the ground, there is a surface layered with history and perhaps fortified with the sweat of a quintessential Aussie hero.

Nathan Lyon, champion spinner, naughty raconteur, knew the pitch in a rather intimate way, many years ago. This was back in 2010, when he was part of the ground-staff here, and it is no surprise that the present head curator, Damian Hough, is all warmth and wonder about all things Lyon.

“He was the first employee I employed. He came from the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Had a bit of a chat with him, told him what the role was and soon he was playing for South Australia, Australia A, and the next minute he is playing for Australia in Sri Lanka,” Damian recalled.

Tending to the pitch and outfield while also finding time to sneak in a club game and some practice sessions, Lyon must have had his hands full. “He would work hard but in the end he had to choose between cricket and being a groundsman. Once Darren Berry found him, there was no turning back. Nathan was a good curator, he was just good energy, always a team member, quite cheeky, so good banter, good humour,” Damian said.

Did the cricket ever affect his duties allied with the surface? Damian was quick to react: “He was so professional. I knew he played cricket but I didn’t know how good he was. He looked after the ground on his own. Worked really hard. In fact, he cut the outfield during the 2010 Ashes Test. Back then he used to go to the Karen Rolton Oval, bowl in the nets.”

Soon the transition to full-time playing happened and Damian recalled: “One day he came back and said ‘sorry I have been picked for the first squad for the South Australian team’. His parents are lovely countryside people and they brought him up well.”

Does knowing the pitch help Lyon in anyway? Damian had his views: “I am not sure. He has interest in surfaces, don’t know if it helps you in the way you play the game. But he has also been out of this for long.”

Lyon’s kinship with surfaces may have changed but his friendship with Damian is set in stone: “We are pretty close, we don’t see each other a lot but we slip in a message from time to time. He has seen my kids grow up. We also have this professional equation between a curator and a player. His is an all-time great story and he has stayed really humble and down to earth.”

A file image of Australia’s Nathan Lyon
| Photo Credit: AP

Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon believes that rival players often serve as the “best coaches”, acknowledging that his Indian counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin has “taught” him a great deal through their faceoffs since 2011-12.

Having made their Test debuts in the same year, Lyon and Ashwin will face each other for the eighth time in the longest format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy five-Test series beginning in Perth on November 22.

“Ash (Ashwin) is an incredible bowler. I’ve gone head-to-head with him for basically my whole career, so I’ve learned a lot from Ash,” Lyon told Fox Cricket.

“He’s an incredibly smart bowler, and he’s able to learn and adapt very quickly, and I think the best bowlers in the world are able to do that. He used his skills to benefit himself and his team.

“So, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, he was the best bowler (in 2020/21), as he usually is. So, hats off to Ash.” It will be Ashwin’s fifth Test tour of Australia, where he has claimed 39 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 42.15.

Lyon further admitted to having studied Ashwin’s bowling closely, especially before Australia toured India in the last few years.

“He’s taught me a lot,” Lyon said. “I’m a big believer in the players that you play against are your best coaches that you eventually come across.” “I’ve watched a lot of his footage heading over to India, the way he goes about it here in Australia, see if I can pick up anything.

“The way I look at cricket is that I’ve never met anyone who has conquered the game, never played against or with anyone who’s conquered the game.

“There’s so much to learn in this great game, and there’s so much for me to learn from Ash. He’s a world-class bowler. He’s taken over 500 Test match wickets, and he should be extremely proud of that.” Ashwin (21.76) outshines Lyon (30.81) in terms of having the best Test bowling average in Asia. However, the Australian has better bowling figures outside Asia — Lyon: 30.09, Ashwin: 33.14.

Asked if they could face again post this tour, Lyon reckoned, “Spin bowling is a craft that the older you get, the better you get with age.”

“There’s definitely no limit for me, and I don’t think there should be a limit for us as well. He’s absolutely world-class, and there’s a series in a couple of years’ time. So, who knows?”

Asked about the secret of his success on non-spinning tracks, Lyon quipped: “I know Jadeja reads all of this stuff, so I can’t really share all my secrets.”

“My big thing is spinning up the back of the ball and getting bounce, but it’s a hard craft to be able to do that in Australia. Your size for error is extremely small,” he said.

They may not have won a Test series against India in nearly a decade, but Lyon feels their World Test Championship final triumph last year would give them the edge.

“India’s got the wood over us in the past few series, but if you’re looking at the World Test Championship (final) in England, we were able to beat them there, and I know that should give us a bit of confidence heading into (this summer),” Lyon said.

“We understand that we’re coming up against a world-class side, but we can take a lot of confidence out of where we are at as an Australian cricket team.

“I feel like we’re on the journey to becoming a great team. We’re not there yet. There’s a bit of work to do, but we have the opportunity to do something pretty special this summer.”

India are reeling from an unprecedented 0-3 home defeat against New Zealand, a result Lyon believes will make the second-ranked team even more determined.

“I think they’re extremely dangerous. They’re a class outfit, and they know their best preparation and how to come out here and perform. It’s going to be a cracking Test series.”

“It’s been a long ten years since Australia’s held the trophy. There’s only a few of us that would probably be in the squad that’s actually held the trophy, so it’s time to bring it home,” he concluded.

Watch | Nathan Lyon interview | On batting on one leg, ‘The Test’ and IPL 2024

Nathan Lyon hobbles and limps gingerly as he walks out to bat to a cheering audience at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Batting on one leg and visibly in discomfort due to a calf injury, Nathan would go on to add four off 13 excruciating balls in one of the most dramatic cricketing moments as part of the England-Australia clash for the Ashes 2023.

Nathan’s wife, Emma, did not want him to bat under such circumstances. Nor did his captain, Pat Cummins, or the team’s physio. Luckily, head coach Andrew McDonald wanted him to, and Nathan knew right away that he would find a way.

“A lot of people around the world go to work uncomfortable. I know the importance of 10 to 15 runs in an Ashes, and I wanted to contribute. When I had a calf injury, I felt like I had let down my teammates and I just wanted to make sure that I help them out by playing a role,” says Nathan, over a virtual conversation, about a vital moment that is also chronicled in the The Test Season 3, currently streaming on Prime Video.

The current season of The Testfollows the Australian men’s cricket team as they embark on a gruelling tour of England in 2023, where they faced India in the World Test Final and took on England in the Ashes. Apart from cricketing moments, The Test also gives a peek into locker-room talk and how players navigate the challenges of balancing sport at the highest level, and their family life. “There are superstars on the team, like Steve Smith and David Warner, but we’re all human, and we see that element coming out in The Test. It’s important for everyone to realise that we make mistakes but we also try our best to go out there and win some games.”

Such documentaries chronicle not just sporting moments, but also provide insights into sportspersons’ lives and how they deal with success and loss. Nathan agrees, “It’s massive, mate. I watch a lot of such stuff, like Quarterback, Full Swing and Tour de France: Unchained. My favourite is the Formula 1 documentary, Drive to Survive. There are great insights into the way individuals prepare for big moments, and that makes for some amazing viewing for fans.”

Spin is in

Growing up in Australia, known to produce fast-bowlers of pedigree such as Glenn Mcgrath, Brett Lee and Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon still wanted to get into spin, a skill that you would largely associate with the subcontinent. He idolised late Australian legendary spinner Shane Warne. “Well, my brother (Brendan Lyon) and I idolised Shane Warne. Seeing him win games for Australia was so special, and so, Brendan took up leg spin. I just wanted to be bigger and better than my brother.”

Today, Nathan, with over 500 wickets to his name, is considered Australia’s most successful offspinner and he loves it when the ball spins. “I’ve been watching the IPL a fair bit now, and if I’m being honest, I’d like to see the wickets to come back a little bit to see a fair contest between bat and ball. Spin is incredibly important in all formats of cricket. Whenever the ball spins, you get the maximum eyes on the television. When we tour India for Test cricket and the ball spins, I feel there are more people watching than anytime else. I absolutely love it when the ball spins and see some batsmen panic. Ravi Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) has flown the flag for that one in the IPL now and hopefully, he will do a great job with that,” says Nathan, who is also keenly watching his skipper, Pat Cummins, captain Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins in ‘The Test’
| Photo Credit:
Prime Video

While he is not part of the IPL, Nathan swears by the five-day Test format, something that he describes as the ‘pinnacle of cricket.’ “For me, it is a place where you cannot hide. If you cannot play the short ball, you cannot hide. You have to ensure that your skillsets are good enough to compete against the best in the world. T-20 and one-day cricket are here, and Test cricket, well, is miles above.”

The Test: Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video