"Feels a bit sick for me to say 'come on Jimmy'"- Nathan Lyon on James Anderson
Veteran Australian right-arm off-spinner Nathan Lyon has claimed it was a bit weird for him to cheer on legendary England pacer James Anderson due to the fierce rivalry the two nations have had over the years. Lyon and Anderson are playing together for Lancashire in the County Championship.
Anderson began his preparation ahead of his final Test for England in some style as he picked up sensational figures of 7/35 for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire.
Speaking to the Lancashire website after the end of play on Day 3, Nathan Lyon said about James Anderson:
"I’ve obviously seen it on the other side. We had a little moment when we said it feels a bit sick for me to say “come on Jimmy” and him saying “nice Garry”. That was a bit different but it’s the beauty of county cricket I guess and it’s pretty special to play with arguably the greatest bowler to ever play the game."
Lyon also accepted that the opportunity to play alongside Anderson was one of the main reasons why he was attracted to playing for Lancashire.
Nathan Lyon surprised England are moving on from James Anderson
Nathan Lyon has been pretty vocal about expressing his surprise over England moving on from James Anderson after the first Test against West Indies at Lord's later this month. He reckons Anderson still has a lot to offer and stated in the same interaction:
"He (Anderson) showed his class. No disrespect to the other bowlers in this game but you can see the class of Jimmy and the extra zip he gets off the wicket. I’ve said this before, I’m very much surprised that England have tapped him on the shoulder. He’s class, he’s world-class. He’s probably the best to ever play the game as a fast bowler and his skillset, especially in England, is remarkable.’"
Lancashire batted first and posted 353/9 in their first innings. A sensational spell from James Anderson saw Nottinghamshire get bundled out for just 126 and were asked to follow on.
Nathan Lyon contributed with a couple of wickets in the second innings as Nottinghamshire ended Day 3 at 84/2.