Following a 172-run win over New Zealand to go 1-0 up in the two-match series, Australia skipper Pat Cummins believes veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon can play Test cricket till 2027.
In the win at Wellington, Lyon claimed 6-65 to bowl out New Zealand for 196 in the second innings to finish with a match haul of 10-108.
“I’d love for him to keep going until 2027. The only barrier is his body, so if he looks after his body and makes sure he’s right for 10 Test matches a year, or whatever it is, I’d love him to play until 2027.
“And I don’t think there’s much that’s going to get in his way. I’ve already told him the day he retires I’m giving up the captaincy because it makes my life a helluva lot easier,” said Cummins to reporters after the match.
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He went on to admit that having Lyon makes it simpler for him to set fields and execute various plans. “It’s a captain’s dream. There’s a real sense of calm out there when you know you’ve got someone that good on a wicket that’s giving him a little bit of help.
“It’s fun really, you can get creative with some of the field placings knowing he’s going to land it exactly where you want it to. I thought he was brilliant over the last couple of days, bouncing through a few different plans but it always just felt like he was in control. And it felt like we had plan B, C and D we could go to as well, but never really felt like we had to.”
Cummins revealed Lyon wanted to have a crack with the new ball in the second innings after the first two overs were bowled. “As soon as Starcy (Mitchell Starc) and Josh (Hazlewood, his opening partner) had bowled their first overs at each end, he (Lyon) was coming up and asking me when he’s coming on.”
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“That’s great, I feel lucky that just about every bowler in our team is like that at the moment. Everyone’s keen to be the matchwinner. But with a bit of spin and a bit of bounce, good luck taking the ball out of Gaz’s (Lyon’s) hand.”
The skipper signed off by praising the sellout crowds for attending all four days of the match at Basin Reserve. “They were great. There were plenty of Aussie shirts around the stadium, but even the Kiwi fans we have met over here so far have been fantastic. I have seen a few bucks parties here as well, (guys) flying over from Australia who have been nice and rowdy, but the fans here all week have been awesome.”
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