Lancashire sign Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon for 2024 season

By Sports Desk November 30, 2023

Lancashire have secured the services of Australia bowler Nathan Lyon for the duration of the 2024 season.

Lyon will spend the whole of next summer at Emirates Old Trafford in what will be his second LV = Insurance County Championship stint.

Off-spinner Lyon, who has claimed 496 Test wickets, played for Worcestershire in 2017 and helped them to promotion from Division Two.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me and I am really looking forward to heading over to England for a full season of county cricket with Lancashire,” Lyon said.

“I love playing cricket in England. I’m keen to keep learning, keep improving my game and hopefully I can contribute to winning matches for the Red Rose and pass on some of the experiences that I have gained over the years throughout my career.

“They have a strong squad at Lancashire and Emirates Old Trafford is a really great venue to play cricket at, so I am looking forward to that. It will also be great to catch up with Jimmy Anderson too.”

Lyon played twice in the drawn Ashes series in England earlier this summer before he suffered a calf injury at Lord’s, which sidelined the off-spinner until October.

Prior to that injury, Lyon had made 100 consecutive Test appearances for Australia and he has taken the third-most wickets for his country behind Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cricket Australia (@cricketaustralia)

 

Lancashire, who are without a head coach following the departure of Glen Chapple in September, will have Lyon available for the start of the County Championship in April after his Test commitments with Australia are wrapped up in March following a two-match series in New Zealand.

Mark Chilton, Lancashire director of cricket performance, added: “Nathan is an extremely skilled and experienced operator and, once we heard that he was available for the duration of next summer, we jumped at the opportunity to add him to our squad for the 2024 season.

“His bowling record in both international and domestic cricket speaks for itself, and we believe that he will be an important player for us with the ball as we look to achieve our goals in all competitions.

“We have several young spin bowlers in our squad and for them to have the opportunity to learn from and play alongside somebody with almost 500 Test match wickets will be invaluable in their development and I am sure Nathan will play an equally significant role off the pitch as he will on it.”

Related items

  • Australia have 'serious work to do' against India, McSweeney concedes Australia have 'serious work to do' against India, McSweeney concedes

    Nathan McSweeney conceded Australia have "serious work to do" if they are to get back into the first Test against India.

    The Baggy Greens trail by 218 runs heading into day three in Perth after an unbroken century partnership of Yashasvi Jaiswal (90) and KL Rahul (62) put the tourists well in control at 172-0 at stumps.

    Though they resumed at 67-7, Australia could only add another 37 runs and were bowled out for 104.

    McSweeney acknowledged the hosts must improve, and quickly.

    "It definitely hasn't gone to plan in the past couple of days," he told ABC. "We've got some serious work to do to get back into this Test. It looks like it is getting easier to bat, so hopefully we get early wickets tomorrow and get batting.

    "It is definitely a new-ball wicket. All the damage was done before we could get through to the 35-40-over mark with the bat, so the trick will be nullifying the new ball and having batters in for the 40-80-over mark."

    Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann added: "It was a tough day, but hats off to the two Indian batters. They were excellent today and weathered the storm, and they got to the stage where they could take the game on.

    "India are well ahead of the game. The wicket has settled down a little bit, but that is more because the Australia bowlers were tired from the first innings and having to bat two hours today."

  • Matthews, Molineux propel Renegades to WBBL summit after dominant nine-wicket win over Thunder Matthews, Molineux propel Renegades to WBBL summit after dominant nine-wicket win over Thunder

    West Indies captain Hayley Matthews put on a batting masterclass, smashing an unbeaten 60 off just 37 balls to power the Melbourne Renegades to a commanding nine-wicket victory over the Sydney Thunder at Melbourne's Junction Oval on Friday.

    The win catapulted the Renegades to the top of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) standings and once again highlighted their title ambitions as they continue to enjoy fairly decent form. In fact, they required only 14.2 overs to easily get to 137-1, surpassing the Thunders modest total of 133.

    Another West Indies star, Deandra Dottin, also played a pivotal role in the victory, chipping in with a tidy spell of 2-24 in 3.1 overs to help restrict the Thunder, with Renegades spinner Sophie Molineux delivering a standout performance by claiming 4-23. Georgia Wareham (2-20) also shared in the wickets.

    Scores: Melbourne Renegades 137-1 (14.2 overs); Sydney Thunder 133 (19.1 overs)

    Chasing 134 for victory, the Renegades’ duo of Matthews and Molineux made light work of the target. Matthews, who was in imperious form, smashed seven boundaries and two sixes in her unbeaten knock, which displayed her full array of strokes against a Thunder attack that had no answers.

    Molineux capped her all-round brilliance with an unbeaten 29-ball 42, including seven boundaries and one six, as she added a steadying hand to Matthews’ aggression.

    The pair took the hapless Thunder bowlers to task in an unbroken 95-run second wicket stand that ensured the Renegades raced to victory with 34 balls to spare.

    Matthews’ dazzling innings, after losing opening partner Courtney Webb (24), marked yet another high point in her WBBL campaign, demonstrating why she is considered one of the best in the world.

    Earlier, the Thunder’s innings never gained sustained momentum, as they lost openers Georgia Voll (11) and Chamari Athapaththu (11) with a mere 26 runs on the board.

    Captain Phoebe Litchfield, batting at number three, top-scored with a quick-fire 17-ball 30 that had six boundaries. However, their batting lineup faltered dramatically and collapsed from 95-4 in the 12th over to lose their last seven wickets for just 38 runs.

    Tahlia Wilson (27) was the Thunder’s next best scorer, while Sammy-Jo Johnson offered a late cameo with 21 from 19 deliveries, leaving them with a subpar total that was always going to be a challenge for their bowlers to defend.

    The Renegades now sit atop the WBBL table with 14 points, relegating Thunder (13 points) to second, with Brisbane Heat (12 points) in third, and needing a massive win against the Sydney Sixers in their final match of the regular season on Sunday to leapfrog the Renegades and secure the coveted hosting rights for the grand final.

    Meanwhile, the race for fourth place remains wide open. The Perth Scorchers (nine points) will take on the fifth-placed Hobart Hurricanes (eight points) on Saturday in a must-win clash. The Sydney Sixers, in sixth place with eight points, still have a mathematical chance of advancing if they upset the Heat.

  • Jaiswal, Rahul and Bumrah put India in control against Australia Jaiswal, Rahul and Bumrah put India in control against Australia

    Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul's unbroken century partnership put India in complete control of their first Test against Australia on day two in Perth. 

    Jaiswal (90 not out) and Rahul (62 not out) left India 172-0 at stumps, extending their advantage to 218 runs after the hosts were bowled out for 104. 

    Australia resumed on 67-7 but were only able to add 37 runs to their overnight total, with Jasprit Bumrah completing a five-for with the dismissals of Pat Cummins (three) and Alex Carey (21) early on. 

    Nathan Lyon followed shortly after, but Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood added 25 from 110 before Starc edged India debutant Harshit Rana (3-48) behind to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

    After a tentative start to India's chase, Jaiswal and Rahul eventually found their groove, though the former was fortunate to see his attempted drive dropped by Usman Khawaja at second slip when on 51.

    Following a first day that saw 17 wickets fall, India's openers were rarely troubled as they cruised through the remainder of the session to give the tourists a comfortable lead. 

    Data Debrief: Trouble in Paradise

    Only four Tests have been played at the Optus Stadium in Perth and all have been won by Australia, but they face a huge task of maintaining that perfect record.

    The hosts' total of 104 runs was also their fourth-lowest score against India in Tests and ninth-lowest at home since 1900.

    And while Jaiswal and Rahul will receive plaudits for their showing with the bat, Bumrah starred with the ball. He struck with his opening delivery of the day and has now claimed his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests and ninth outside Asia – the latter stat seeing him equal Kapil Dev's record for India.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.