“He’s got country hands, strong fingers, the ball looks right at home,” says John Davison, also known as the Spin Whisperer, whose delight in Queensland is clearly audible.
“It’s a testament to his action and the work he’s put in over the years; he doesn’t put too much strain on his back or his knees, he can go on forever,” he adds with a chuckle. It’s a statement that will horrify batsmen the world over and leave the game’s great bowlers twitching and looking over their shoulders. Nathan Lyon has just claimed his 500th (and 501st) Test wicket and it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping anytime soon.
Lyon’s history and standing in the game will be well illustrated over the next few days and weeks, with Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf’s iconic wicket in Perth fixing him lbw in classic Lyon fashion, inevitably leading to conversations about both his origins and his future.
Relating to: Humility and heart: How Nathan Lyon became the quietly spinning key to Australia’s success
It’s a story. Lyon is a shy country boy from the town of Young on the South West Slopes, the “Cherry Capital of Australia”. This journey, playing against his brother Brendan in the backyard, saw him face adults twice his age in club matches, moving to play representative cricket in Canberra as a teenager and then moving on to Adelaide, fulfilling an oft-cited mission. Curator (fieldman) duties at Adelaide Oval while taking on Grade cricket for nearby Prospect.
From here comes the proverbial whirlwind – a string of eye-catching performances in the germination phase of the Big Bash and a handful of Sheffield Shield games propelled him into the Australian Test side in 2011, where he took a wicket with his gun. first ball. No less robbing Kumar Sangakkara. Twelve years and 500 Test wickets later, only Warne and McGrath rank above him on his country’s all-time wicket list.
“It’s scary because he’s getting really good,” says Davison. “And he’s playing most of his Test cricket somewhere. [Australia] This is absolutely brutal for the finger spinner.
Davison first met Lyon while he was working on a spin program for Cricket Australia and traveling around the states to identify new talent. In Canberra, at age 18, he encountered a skinny kid who “twirled around and wasn’t that impressive”. They have worked together occasionally since then. Davison was appointed spin coach for the Australian men’s team in the 2013–14 season and served as Lyon’s mentor.
Lyon called Davison “the best spin coach in the world” and added: “Davo is the only person I really trust… I have a great relationship with him. He knows my technique inside out and is the person who can come in and give me honest feedback when I need it.”
Nowadays it is a less formal but still productive relationship. Just over three weeks ago, on the precipice of 499 wickets, Lyon were handed a session ahead of the Perth Test against Pakistan. “He texts me and usually comes to Brisbane but this time I went to Sydney,” says Davison. “He hadn’t bowled as regularly because of his calf injury in the Ashes, so we just worked on a few things to get the feeling back – wrist position, getting on the ball, things like that. This doesn’t happen as often as it used to because he’s at the top of his game but we still have checks. “I don’t know if he’s doing it for me or for himself… but it’s always good and heartwarming after all this time.”
Davison was there in the bad moments; The self-doubt and pressure Lyon feels as he tries to retain his role as Australia’s No. 1 Test spinner, especially in the post-Warne years when the knives are cut. Perceived lack of second-inning effectiveness.
It was no surprise to Davison that Lyon had overcome these difficult times, overcome the scrutiny and started to consistently reach the highest stage. “He is so hungry that he wants to improve all the time. He was telling me the other day that he’s going to be playing county cricket for Lancashire next year and how he wants to play in all competitions and improve his white-ball skills. I have no doubt that it will get better.”
As a player, Davison is perhaps best remembered for blasting a 67-ball century for Canada against the West Indies at Centurion in 2003, the fastest World Cup century at the time. He was also a shrewd off-spinner, often opening the bowling in one-day internationals; He memorably set the best (at the time) by taking 17 wickets in Canada’s first first-class match in over 50 years (in 2004). The first bowling figures since Jim Laker’s 19-wicket haul against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956.
Davison, now 53, is in demand as a private spin coach; He has recently been working with Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and is passionate about unearthing new talent in Queensland and beyond. He has an impressive gray-flecked beard in the mold of WG Grace or Charles Darwin, but it’s revolutions rather than evolution that make his mustache twitch.
“I’ve been traveling around the country testing spin bowlers for over 15 years,” he says. “There is technology designed by the Trackman company specifically to measure the spin applied to the cricket ball. If a finger spinner can get over 2,000 RPM (revolutions per minute) on the ball, then I’m starting to get excited. If the revs are above 2,200 RPM, it’s almost a whole different game.”
The inevitable question is: How are Lyon doing? “At the top of that tree; It operates between 2,200 and 2,400 RPM. No one I’ve encountered has ever really come close to this as a finger spinner.
Lyon is 62 Test scalps behind Glenn McGrath on the all-time list; Beyond that, the next spinner above him is Anil Kumble – 118 wickets away. A quick look at his career statistics, coupled with his fitness records and oft-expressed desire to improve, suggest he could surpass both with a few more years of corruption. Davison agrees: “Nathan is really reaping the rewards now. He has a great pace attack around him and has all the experience. “He is a well-oiled machine with so much cricket left in him that if he stays on the park the next few years could be his most successful yet.”
Earth air and fire
Rovman Powell’s West Indies team has been keeping The Spin warm through recent dark days and long nights. With some key players back on the field, they are burning the stands and England’s fingers with a muscular, six-hitting swagger.
West Indies cricket is often described in basic terms – from the pyrotechnics of the T20 stars produced by their global franchises to the icy cool and faster than the wind of Viv Richards – fire in babylon – From Holding, Roberts and Malcolm Marshall.
Intro to Vaneisa Baksh’s new album son of grace – An excellent, uncompromising and incredibly comprehensive biography that sheds new light on the life and legacy of Frank Worrell – Baksh explains how a “bizarre comparison” has been made between the personalities and styles of Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes, the “three Ws” The man who bested West Indies and world cricket in the 1950s could invoke the elements of earth, wind and fire:
“Worrell, the biggest would be the wind; sometimes cool and refreshing, sometimes stormy and violent, but always delicate and defined by an impalpable force. His batting was unanimously admired for its style and elegance: this was a man of finesse who enjoyed the art of the game. His late cuts were his trademark.
Walcott, The giant was fire: raw power and endurance that often made it impossible to extinguish. He raged domineeringly while singing and made the whole place hot.
WeeksThe smallest and shortest of the three, he was no less powerful but was not prone to big outbursts, relying instead on masterful technique and an intelligent brain that could read the ball early. Sixes were not his choice, rather he scored on the ground. Temperamentally, he was a worldly man with an upbringing that kept him close to the philosophy of his grassroots heritage.”
Baksh’s book is being hailed as “simply brilliant” by Michael Holding and Spin subscribers can get a copy for no less than a few quid right here.
quote of the week
“Oh yeah. Big time. My wife threatened me with divorce. I played that a lot. I had a dance mix. I loved that extended play stuff and I played both sides of it… I played that game until my wife said, ‘One more time, I’m going to leave you’” – Spin has just spotted this quote, which horror writer Stephen King gave to Rolling Stone magazine about a month ago. The song in question? Lou Bega’s cricket-themed tune from 1999’s Channel 4 – Mambo No 5. “A little …”
Still want more?
Humility and heart: how Nathan Lyon became the quietly spinning key to Australia’s success. By Geoff Lemon.
England’s dismal defeat to India in the one-off women’s test followed a worrying pattern under Jon Lewis, writes Raf Nicholson.
Barney Ronay explains why we’ll miss David Warner and his main villain energy.
Usman Khawaja challenges cricket’s uncomfortable relationship with activism, writes Daniel Gallan.
And England’s newest off-spinner Shoaib Bashir talks to Taha Hashim about living the wild dream after being selected for the Test tour of India after just six first-class matches.
memory lane
Bowling kingdom in different sizes. Curtly Ambrose, playing his fourth Test, leads England’s first innings against the West Indies at Trent Bridge in 1988, taking four wickets. But Malcolm Marshall is just behind him and, a decade into his international career, he had: six for 69. Marshall, perhaps the fastest of the West Indies, finished the five-Test series with a remarkable 35 wickets at an average of 12.65 as the visitors won 4-0.
Contact Spin…
…writing to James.
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