Nathan Lyon is the most successful off-spinner for Australia, yet he has struggled to make it to the One Day set up over the years.
Although his unmatchable record in Tests Lyon has been unable to make a mark for himself in the limited overs side. Lyon has 290 wickets to his name in the Test format which has earned him a nickname of ‘GOAT’ (Greatest of all Time).
However, these numbers have not been enough for the selectors to show trust in him in white ball cricket. Lyon played his last of the 13 matches in coloured clothing in August 2016 against Sri Lanka, and he played his only T20I match in January against India in the same year.
Lyon will now lead Prime Minister’s XI against England on February 2 in a T20 warm-up clash for the tri-series tournament involving Australia, England and New Zealand.
Lyon’s record in the limited-overs format has been impressive. In his 13 ODI’s for Australia, Lyon has picked up 17 wickets at an average of 34 with an economy rate of 4.93. His domestic T20 record is even more impressive; in 37 matches he has picked up 48 wickets at an average of 18.6 and an economy rate of 7.10.
The 30-year old will now lead Prime Minister’s XI and is confident very soon he will wear the national colours playing for Australia. Lyon said,
“I definitely want to play every opportunity I get. All three formats is my goal; there’s no point hiding behind that. I want to do that, that’s part of my personal goal, so it’s up to me. The ball is in my court to be honest if I go out and perform well and make the selectors make a hard choice. ‘But I’m not really worried about trying to prove anything, I’ve just got to go out and bowl well. ‘Any time I walk out on a field, whether it’s Australia, Sydney Sixers, Prime Minster’s team or New South Wales, I’m going out there and trying to win. As a professional cricketer that’s my job. I’m just really focused on making sure if I’m bowling with pink ball, white ball or red ball, whatever ball it is, that I’m going out there and doing my job for the side.”
Australia lost the five-match ODI series by a disappointing margin of 4-1 against England and is now looking forward to backing to winning ways in the shorter format in the upcoming triangular T20 series which also includes New Zealand.
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