Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has carried the legacy left behind by Shane Warne. Lyon has found success in different conditions and that has made him Australia’s bowling spearhead when they come on tour to the sub-continent. Former Australia batter Michael Hussey feels Lyon will be around for many years to come and will deliver top level performances for sometime. He believes that the veteran off-spinner has plenty to offer in the coming years.
Lyon recently produced one of his best bowling performances in Indore in the third Test to help Australia bag a nine-wicket win. He was simply sensational, the way he was outclassing Indian batters and the Australians will hope that he keeps on going in the penultimate Test match in Ahmedabad.
Recent Hussey interacted with SEN Sportsday where he shared that his belief is that the New South Wales spinner has plenty to offer in the coming years for Australian cricket especially in the longest format of the game. He believes that the spinners usually enter their peak years in their late 30s.
“As long as he wants really. He’s been amazing with his longevity and he’s still pretty young really. He’s got years and years to go, as long as his body keeps holding up. They always say spinners come into their peak into their 30s and maybe into their late 30s, it’s a tough art and I don’t see why he can’t keep going for a long time,” Hussey stated.
Lyon is a very seasoned campaigner and the fact that he has had the number of several Indian batters makes him one of the best spinners visiting the country on tour. Even Rohit Sharma agreed that Lyon has to be the best spinner he has faced at home.
Speaking more spin bowling Hussey feels Matthew Kuhnemann has left a bigger impact than Tpodd Murphy. He picked the Queenslander because he spins the ball away from the right handers. He however acknowledges Murphy’s talent but wants to have more variety and hence picks Kuhnemann as Australia’s second spinner.
“I’ve been really impressed with Murphy, he looks really good. Having said that though, I like to have the balance in the attack where you’ve got one guy spinning it into the right-hander and one guy spinning away. I’d probably lean towards Kuhnemann, but only for that reason that he’s turning the ball in the opposite direction,” Mr Cricket added.
Australia are in a good position in the context of the World Test Championships (WTC) as the win in Indore has helped them qualify for the finals of the competition. But the upcoming match in Ahmedabad will be crucial, as India will have to win to qualify for the WTC finals whereas Australia would like to restore parity and draw the series even though they have lost out on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
