NEW DELHI: After securing a commanding 172-run victory over New Zealand, propelling Australia to a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, captain Pat Cummins expresses confidence in the longevity of veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon‘s Test cricket career, suggesting that Lyon could continue playing until 2027.
Lyon’s stellar performance in the Wellington match, where he took 6-65 to dismiss New Zealand for 196 in the second innings, resulted in an impressive match haul of 10-108.
“I’d love for him to keep going until 2027. The only barrier really 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 absolutely 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 definitely giving up the captaincy because it makes my life a helluva lot easier,” said Cummins to reporters after the match.
Cummins acknowledged that having Lyon on the team simplifies the process of setting fields and implementing various strategies, making it easier for him to execute plans.
“It’s a captain’s dream really. 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.”
“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.”
Tye 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.”
(With inputs from IANS)<\/span><\/div>\n