Nathan Lyon is eagerly waiting to settle a 10-year-old score with India. A key advantage for him in this endeavor could be the information he received from English spinner Tom Hartley. At the end of the year, Australia will face India in a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
India has won the last four bilateral series between the two teams. Australia’s last victory came in the 2014-15 season. Even on home soil, Australia lost the last two series to India. As a result, many players in the current Australian team have no memories of winning a series against India.
In the 2020-21 season, India achieved a historic victory against Australia. After being bowled out for 36 runs in Adelaide and falling behind 1-0, India still managed to win the series despite having to field a nearly second-string team due to injuries and other reasons.
Although Australia defeated India in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval last year, the wound of not winning the bilateral series remains. Lyon also reminded of this, saying, “It’s really a 10-year-old unfinished business. It’s been a long time, and I know we’re particularly hungry to change that this time, especially on our home turf.”
Lyon, who ranks second on the list of the most successful off-spinners in Test history, added, “Don’t get me wrong, India is a truly star-studded team, very tough. But this time I’m very hungry to change the result. This time we want to get the trophy back.” Lyon also mentioned the team’s evolution over the past few years, saying, “It feels like we’re a different team than we were a few years ago. We’re on our way to becoming a memorable Australian cricket team. Of course, we haven’t reached the peak yet, but we’re on that path and playing quite good cricket.”
Overcoming India on this path is undoubtedly a big challenge for Australia. Lyon also praised them, particularly giving credit to India for finding world-class players. In this context, Lyon mentioned Yashasvi Jaiswal but also acknowledged the support he received in preparing to face him.
Recently, Lyon played county cricket in England for Lancashire, where his teammate was English spinner Tom Hartley, who recently played against India. Lyon said, “I haven’t played against him (Jaiswal) yet, but he’ll be a big challenge for all our bowlers. I’ve closely watched how he played against England. In my opinion, he played exceptionally well. I had some good discussions with Tom Hartley—how he bowled against each player. It was quite fascinating.”
Lyon continued, “I love talking about cricket. When you talk to someone who has played Test cricket, you might pick up something you didn’t know before. There’s so much knowledge floating around in cricket. We can always pick up something useful.”
Lyon knows that he might have to use some of these insights against England in the next Ashes. But for now, his focus is on India. When asked if the discussions with Hartley will be helpful, he said, “If the plans we discussed are implemented, then they will definitely be useful.”
