As Nathan Lyon was mobbed by his teammates in Perth on Sunday after becoming just the third Australian to take 500 Test wickets when dismissing Faheem Ashraf, it is certain some old mates in the cherry capital of Young were raising a glass in celebration.
From the Empire Hotel in the centre of the town to the Wombat pub down the road, scarcely a summer Saturday evening went by where Lyon did not soak in a valuable life lesson after a day bowling at Cranfield Park as his teammates enjoyed a drink.
Those tough country cricketers used to knock him all over the park when he was a kid. Or at least try to until Lyon slipped another one past the bat, or drew them into a false shot, as happened when the ball to Ashraf caught the Pakistan batsmen plum in front.
From Young to Canberra and then onto Adelaide, where he worked for a pittance while wondering whether his dream might be slipping away, Lyon has beguiled those he bowled to.
Some tough love from his coach John Davison sent him on his way to a Baggy Green. The “spin whisperer” still dishes out a tough word or two. But he will be toasting Lyon too.
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It is now a dozen years since Lyon stepped into the Aussie rooms. “Garry”, as he was soon nicknamed after former Melbourne AFL captain Garry Lyon, candidly admits he had no idea what he was doing there. Doubts persisted.
But Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin wrapped their arms around him and set him straight. The humble off-spinner was on his way. Now he sits among the best ever.
Five hundred Test wickets. Only eight players have managed the feat, two of them Aussies. Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. Lyon sometimes cannot believe the company he keeps.
But there is no dispute that he belongs. And a case could be made he gets better every year. On the eve of the Perth Test, Fox Cricket sat down with the champion to canvas his career.
CHERRY COUNTRY PRODUCES A PEACH
Nathan Lyon stresses the point. The importance of learning how to play cricket on turf pitches should never be underestimated given the curiosity and intrigue it inspires.
From the time he was old enough to hold a bat, Lyon learned the laws of the turf. It was a love his parents Bronwyn and Stephen helped foster. And he has no doubt it gave him an advantage over kids growing up in the big smoke.
“It was a small town … and I feel like it developed my cricket game at a lot faster rate than what the city kids experienced,” Lyon told foxsports.com.au.
“I was playing on turf wickets from the age of nine or ten and I reckon I can count on one hand the number of games I played on synthetic wickets.
“You can get the ball to move and there is not the consistent bounce (of synthetic pitches). Back then, I would bat in the top five and bowl as well. It helped my batting immensely, because you can’t just hit through the line of it.”
There is no doubt Lyon developed quickly. Bush batsmen can be tough. A run is a run, no matter the age or skill of the rival striving to send them back to the pavilion.
“I was also playing A-Grade at the age of 12 and that was against men. And they didn’t hold back at all. That was the deal. I was there to compete, like anyone else,” he said.
“So I was playing two games of cricket on Saturday and probably (one on) Sunday as well. I played a lot, but I loved it.
“I feel like playing grade cricket down there sped my game up to be able to play against men at a younger age. I had an older brother I could have listened to a little bit more, but all in all, I wouldn’t change my upbringing, that is for sure.”
And some of the best lessons came from sitting around those blokes who, on Sunday afternoon, would have been enjoying a beer watching Lyon ripping the ball in the west.
“From sitting at the pub at the age of 14 after every game and not understanding what anything was talking about, but being able to listen to the banter and having the respect that you get from having a drink with the opposition, I think there were little things like that which you learn a lot quicker as a country kid, I dare say. It was pretty amazing,” Lyon said.
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FROM THE CHERRY CAPITAL TO THE NATION’S CAPITAL
Canberra sits a couple of hours down the road from Young and as Lyon started to make a mark at home, the bush telegraph swung into action.
From Young to Wombat, then down through Harden and Binalong and along the Barton Highway, the whispers suggested a good young talent was about to take flight.
Lyon represented the ACT in representative teams in the under-17s and under-18s and realised he needed to move to a bigger centre to further his career.
“I always dreamt of playing cricket for Australia, playing state cricket. And I was 18 when I moved to Canberra. And that started my journey,” he said.
“I always said you are only three good innings away from (playing) the next level in cricket. So I had that mindset.”
Lyon represented the Canberra Comets in 2008 and was mentored by his captain Mark Higgs.
Around that time he met the ‘spin whisperer” John Davison, who emerged as the most influential coach of his career. The key to their success, Lyon said, is their honesty.
“I first met John Davidson when I was probably about 19 years old at a spin camp and got along really well with him. He progressed my bowling and helped me out,” he said.
“I could only speak extremely highly of Dave. I think he is the best spin bowling coach in the world (and) I’ve been able to work with him for a long period of time.
“What makes ‘Davo’ a really good coach (is that) he’s patient but he’s willing to give criticism. I feel like, especially today, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t like receiving criticism.
“No-one does like it, but you need to be brave enough to accept it and take it on board. You can either put it in one pocket and park it, or put it in the other pocket and learn from it and grow from it.
“We’ve got that open relationship where we have those tough conversations and, deep down, I know that he’s only trying to help me at the end of the day.”
Lyon agonisingly close to wicket 500 | 00:31
CHASING AWAY DOUBTS WHILE TRACKING DOWN SCHNITTYS
Lyon loves his life lessons. And the toughest he received occurred in South Australia.
From working as a member of the ground staff at Adelaide Oval while trying to make the grade as a cricketer, he pondered for a period whether the dream was slipping away.
“I never lost the dream but I probably felt like it was probably a little bit further away. I thought I was getting old at that stage,” he said.
“But looking at it now, I was pretty young and pretty dumb, really. So I’ve never lost the dream and I have never lost the hunger to try to get better.”
It is an apprenticeship he remembers with fondness, in part because he remains fully aware of how fortunate he is to be part of the national cricket team and the benefits that go with it.
“I know what real life is like. I know what getting up at 5:30am every day is like, to go to work five days a week, sometimes on the weekends, (working) overtime and what not,” he said.
“I know the value of a dollar. When I moved out of home, I was on $5.35 an hour. And you’re living out of home, in a share house, paying rent, trying to put food on the table.
“You end up chasing around the $10 ‘schnitty’ nights, or (cheap) rump steaks around the pubs, which isn’t ideal. But you understand … the value of it.
“I feel like in my journey, I understand the importance of working, building relationships with different people, understanding that everyone’s got a different journey and a different role they play in their life as well.”
CRACKING THE NATIONAL TEAM WHILE CLUELESS ABOUT CRICKET
Back in his boyhood bedroom in Young, Lyon had posters of all of his heroes on the wall.
Ricky Ponting. Mike Hussey. Brad Haddin. Warney. The Aussie team were his icons.
And the first three were still around when Lyon made his Test debut in Galle against Sri Lanka, with Greg Chappell handing him his ‘Baggy Green’. He was not sure he was ready.
“When I got to the Australian cricket team, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know how to work a game. I didn’t know how to bowl an over properly at that level,” he said.
“It wasn’t until Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin and Mike Hussey really put their arms around me, helping me in the Test set up to … get a good understanding on how I needed to approach Test cricket.
“I had Ponting and Haddin and Hussey on my wall at home when I was a kid growing up. So to then be their teammate and sit down and learn from them and have them share their advice, stories and what not, it was incredibly important.”
STEVE SMITH’S SOFT TOUCH
Leading into the opening Test of the summer against Pakistan, Lyon found himself in an uncomfortable position. He was cheering after Steve Smith lost his wicket. Having toured for Australia for so long together, it was a rare occasion when they were on rival sides.
“I have played a lot of Test cricket against Steve Smith and you see his record … the other night was the first night on the Renegades bench watching the Sixers game and it is the first time I have ever clapped when Smithy got out. I felt weird doing it,” he said.
When it comes to the batsmen, he said South African champion AB de Villiers is the best he has bowled to. Their head-to-head does not lie, with the de Villiers losing his wicket to Lyon twice while scoring 342 runs against him in Test matches between 2011 and 2018.
“The toughest would be … AB de Villiers is up there. He could just hit you to anywhere in the ground,” he said.
The 35-year-old quipped “there is a few I would fancy my chances against” when asked about his teammates, but then said some of his toughest tussles had come bowling against Smith in the nets.
“You have to challenge yourself against the best and I have had some unbelievable net sessions against Smithy. I will never play against him in Test cricket, so I don’t have to worry about that,” he said.
“For me, it is his hands (which set him apart). I look around batters around the world and the best batters have the best hands. They have fast hands.”
Ask Lyon what his favourite venue to bowl at in Australia is and the question is not yet competed when he barks; “Adelaide Oval”.
And as to the best international venue? “Adelaide Oval”.
“It is the best wicket. It is the best pitch. I obviously know the curator very well, but he produces a wicket that is a good contest between bat and ball,” he said.
THE CHAMPION BOWLERS CLUB
Lyon removed an icon to claim his first Test scalp, for Kumar Sangakkara is regarded as one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen in history.
A dozen years later, and his 123rd Test, Ashraf became his 500th Test wicket.
Ahead of him are Murali Muralidaran, Warne, Jimmy Anderson, Anil Kumble, Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh.
Quizzed about joining the company he now keeps, Lyon said chasing “the next wicket” will always be his motivation. And leading into the summer, he declared he has years left in him.
But having grown up with posters of his idols on the wall, while bowling against bush legends on the weekend, Lyon is understandably thrilled with the career he has built.
“(I’m) pretty proud,” he said.
“When you look at the greats of Australian cricket, the likes of Warne and McGrath being the only two guys … to have ever taken over 500 wickets … it’s pretty amazing.
“And certainly I’m proud about being a small country kid from Young and someone who has always strived to play cricket for Australia.
“Did I dream of taking over 500 Test match wickets for Australia? God, no, but I wouldn’t change it.”
THE LEGACY
Lyon is far from finished. It is not hard to imagine that 600 Test wickets is a possibility given his excellence into his mid-30s.
But similar to the manner with which Shane Warne inspired young kids around the country in the 1990s, the champion off-spinner is among a crop doing the same thing now.
“It’s pretty amazing when you go around to clinics now, because obviously they’ve grown up watching, over the last 10 years, the likes of Smith, myself and Starcy,” he said.
“You start to see the little similar techniques (in kids) as you are walking around. It puts a smile on your face and makes your heart a little bit warmer.
“(It is) all about trying to give back to the game and inspire young boys and girls to play the game. That is what I believe is the game for all and everyone should have a go and enjoy it.”
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