-Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
Lyon’s share. Lyon-hearted. Lyon’s den. Clichés and puns may continue to shower, but what Nathan Lyon has achieved on Indian soil makes him arguably the best Australian cricketer ever to have performed in the country known for its historically strong ability to counter spin bowling. Yes, times have changed and Indians are not as proficient against this variety of bowling as they used to be. Yet, this off-spinner’s numbers in India are staggering.
The owner of 479 Test wickets — which makes him the fourth best among spinners in the all-time list — is on his third trip to India. The first in 2013 was forgettable from a team point of view as Australia lost 4-0. But quietly, Lyon had made his mark, with 15 wickets from three Tests, including a haul of 7/94 in the last one in Delhi. The second visit in 2017 saw him scalp 19 from four outings. This included a career-best 8/50 in Bengaluru. The third, which is the ongoing series, has perhaps seen Lyon at his best. He has taken 19 wickets in three Tests. The peak came in Indore, where he claimed 8/64. In all, he has 53 wickets in 10 Tests, with five five-wicket hauls.
However, these are mere numbers. They convey his success and efficiency, without throwing light on the art and craft that has earned him these figures. Lyon is different from the other off-spinners who have taken 400-plus Test wickets. He does not have as wide a range as Muthiah Muralitharan. He does not bowl the doosra which got Harbhajan Singh a bagful of wickets. And unlike Ravichandran Ashwin, he does not have the carom ball. Crucially, his bowling action never came under scrutiny.
Clarity of thought, precise idea of what he wants to do, devising plans and sticking to them tirelessly even when the chips are down and belief in his abilities are some of the traits that make Lyon what he is. He is ever willing to go through the grind and remains unfazed when the going gets tough. A thinking bowler, he works out what works for him and follows those lines and lengths. Like all great spinners, he experiments and is quick to come to a conclusion about the best possible ploy, which varies from one country to another, subject to opponents and conditions.
The ongoing edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy has seen the spinner born in New South Wales at his imaginative and methodical best. With all the pitches assisting spinners, he formulated a strategy early on. From the first Test in Nagpur until the third one in Indore, he has predominantly followed an around-the-wicket ploy against right-handers and left-handers, with a packed leg side field when right-handers were at his opposite end. The numbers of fielders on that side ranged from five to seven as Lyon primarily attacked the right-hander’s leg stump. The line varied according to the situation and the batter, but not the consistency or accuracy.
Bowling on turning tracks does not necessarily make a spinner’s job easier. While they do get turn, it becomes important to have control over the amount of turn. Otherwise, they run the risk of becoming predictable. Excessive spin can sometimes make them deviate from the line they want to attack. Also, finger spinners especially have to alter the pace they normally bowl at. On a normal surface, they are usually slower than they ought to be on rank turners. This means changes in game plan, methods and of principles of operation and embracing a formula they are not used to. And therein lies the secret of Lyon’s success in India.
The 35-year-old was considerably quicker through the air, sometimes clocking nearly 100 kmph. This meant the batters had lesser time to react and adjust. He troubled some world class batters and took wickets with deliveries which turned square and also with those which did not turn at all. Bowling from around the wicket meant he could attack the inside edge of the right-handers with deliveries that spun and also the outside edge with those that did not. Unlike some of his teammates, Lyon is not part of the IPL. His experience of playing in India is limited largely to the three Test series. To be still be able to find out what suits him and sticking to his plans relentlessly makes him special. In all probability, no other visiting spinner has had as much success in India as Lyon over three series.
When it comes to Australians excelling in India, we usually think of Matthew Hayden in 2001, Steve Smith in 2017 and a few others over the years. Truth be told, nobody has flourished as much as Lyon over a period 10 years. Australia may or may not be able to square the ongoing series, but they have come back from the humiliation suffered in the first two Tests. Matthew Kuhnemann’s five wickets in the first innings, Usman Khawaja’s 60 which is likely to remain the highest individual score of the Indore Test, Smith’s captaincy all played a part. But then, going back to the cliché, no marks for guessing who deserves Lyon’s share of the credit.