Australia spinner Nathan Lyon reveals the toughest batsman he’s ever bowled to

Nathan Lyon has been one of Australia’s prime spinners in the international circuit, especially Test cricket. Batsmen around the world have found it difficult to get the tweaker away. However, he hasn’t quite been able to cement his place in the limited-overs team. Nevertheless, the off-break bowler has been selected in the 15-man Australian squad for the upcoming World Cup.

Going into the mega event where the Aussies will open their campaign against Afghanistan on June 1 in Bristol, Lyon would be relieved that he doesn’t have to bowl to AB de Villiers. Lyon didn’t mince any words in saying that the retired South African cricketer is the toughest batsman he’s ever bowled to. He also reminisced how ABD treated Mitchell Johnson with absolute disdain.

Oh crap, he can probably hit me anywhere

“He is probably the hardest batter I’ve ever bowled to, and I’ve played against AB quite a few times now on different tours. And there’ve been a couple of tours when Mitchell Johnson’s been bowling like the wind after a pretty amazing Ashes series here at home, and AB was pulling Mitch in front of square leg and just back-footing drives and showing all the shots,” Lyon told The Back Page Live.

“He’s probably the one guy who I’ve thought: ‘Oh crap, he can probably hit me anywhere he wants at any time.’ So it’s an interesting one when you’re up against that challenge, but I’ve always said I want to challenge myself against the best players in the world, and AB is still one of those guys running around,” Lyon was quoted as saying.

As far as De Villiers is concerned, he retired from international cricket back in May last year. His departure left a massive void in the Proteas middle-order and South Africa are yet to find his appropriate replacement. The team will be captained by Faf du Plessis and will play its opening match against hosts England at the Kennington Oval in London on Thursday, May 30.

[interaction id=”5cc6ba522ea93c91660b5af7″]

Join CricTracker on Telegram. Match Predictions, Fantasy Guides and other handpicked stories every day. Subscribe to our Telegram channel.