Nathan Lyon must be wondering when it is time to wake up.
Wow, what a crazy couple of days of cricket.
Let me be the first to admit I was way off with my prematch predictions; this pitch has more Gremlins than an 80′s movie set.
My humblest apologies go to the young spinner, Nathan Lyon. Great effort on debut. Even in a spinners paradise a 5-for on debut deserves plaudit. I have immediately taken a liking to Lyon, not just because he gives the ball flight and a decent revolution or two; but equally impressed with his character. He seems to enjoy his cricket, looks remarkably at ease for someone with such limited experience, but most importantly is an heir to the old guard of Australian cricketer.
As I noted back in January, Australian cricket has been suffering from a image crisis for some years now, in particular with the emerging Gen Y players. Let me provide a few examples.
Tim Paine Hair: What’s with the hair obsession, dude? Narcissistic tendencies show a weakness of character, confidence issues.
Brett Lee Singing Career: I am all for Brett, great Australian, but seriously.
Michael Clarke’s Tabloid Affairs.
Mitchell Johnson’s Tattoos.
Callum Ferguson‘s Media Coaching: He sounds like James Brayshaw on crack, without the knowledge. What the fuc|< is up with the hair obsession?
Moving on from the Prima Donnas, on to the man Nathan Lyon aka. “Bushtucker Nate”.
What a man, one look at him makes we want to pack the car and set off camping. More reminiscent of Krusty the Clown than a artifact at Madame Tussauds, he may not be the greatest spinner in the world, but he is surely someone I can cheer for. “Bushtucker” Lyon made his way through the youth system, but did not rely on schmoozing or ass-sniffing to get a berth at State level. Instead, he worked as a groundsman at Adelaide Oval and bowled in the nets during his lunch break; catching the eye of State coach Darren Berry. Berry is a hard man, no bullshit; his endorsement means something.
Berry says it all. Lyon seems to have the skill set (than being a repertoire of variation), and character (confidence to flight the ball) to become a threatening bowler at international level. As you can hear, just from this one interview, he is a very approachable humble guy, with a level set of shoulders. For me, he is leagues ahead of any of the other cookie cutouts in the Aussie team, well done Nathan Lyon.
Watto-man, needs to do it with the bat and the ball in the same game for once…Champion, but whenever he kills it with one, fails with the other
Watto-man is reliable at one or the other, if I was an Australian fan I would be more concerned with the form of Clarke. He should give himself a few overs in the last innings…