Australian offie Nathan Lyon names a bowler’s wicket as his special one

Nathan Lyon, Australia’s most successful finger spinner of all time, has dismissed many great batsmen, and has enjoyed many good days on the field. The spinner, who has 306 Test wickets under his belt, has done his job well in almost every country.

But when asked to choose the most cherished wicket of his career, the 30-year-old singled out New Zealand pacer Chris Martin, who mostly batted at number 11 in Test cricket. Lyon, while speaking to cricket.com.au, mentioned that he cherished taking wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli among others but said that Martin’s dismissal was a special one.

It was probably one of the best balls I bowled

“It’s quite hard to sit down and name one. Out of all 306 there’s not too many that I say I really deserved that,” he said. “There’s been a couple of good ones. Bowling Sachin Tendulkar through the gate in Chennai. I think only a small number of spinners have been able to do that feat against Sachin. Taking someone like Virat (Kohli’s) wicket something like six times. Obviously, he is one of the best batters in the world.”

“However, I still believe that one of my best balls I bowled, which is embarrassing, is bowling Chris Martin at the Gabba (wicket No.16). It was probably one of the best balls I bowled. A genuine good ball to a right hander, through the gate. I’ve wasted it on Chris Martin – no offence Chris. I wish it was AB de Villiers or Kevin Pietersen or someone like that but it is what it is.”

In 78 Tests matches, Lyon, who started as a cricket groundstaff and then turned into a professional player, has taken 306 wickets to be the ninth most successful spin bowler of all time. He is only three wickets away from surpassing Lance Gibbs. Lyon should be able to surpass that tally, heading into Australia’s two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE starting on Sunday. Meanwhile, he took an eight-wicket haul against Pakistan A earlier this week in a tour match.

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