"I am excited by that challenge" - Nathan Lyon unfazed by England's aggressive approach ahead of 2023 Ashes series
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has said that he is looking forward to countering England's aggressive brand of cricket in the upcoming Ashes series. Lyon reckons flat wickets or pulling the boundaries forward would offer the English no significant advantage.
His comments came after England captain Ben Stokes explicitly called for flat wickets for this year's Ashes. Several reports have also suggested that the hosts have contemplated shortening the boundaries.
Nathan Lyon feels the English batters will target him regardless of the conditions and backed the Aussie batters to do the same. He said during an appearance on the "Unplayable" podcast:
"Travis Head's pretty excited about the 59-metre boundaries as well. It's the same for us. It's not like they can bring the boundary in when we bat and then push it out again. They're going to come hard at me no matter what type of boundary it is."
The veteran off-spinner reflected that getting hit for sixes doesn't scare him as his chances of getting wickets increases.
"I've planned for that and I'm excited by that challenge. I want to challenge myself against the best players, and this brand of cricket they're playing is certainly bringing the crowds back," Lyon said.
"It's exciting. I've been hit for six … It must be getting close to 300 (times) now for me. I'm not worried by it at all, I'm not scared by it. It provides a chance (of taking wickets) in my eyes."
Lyon has a decent record in England, taking 45 scalps in 13 matches at 31.62 with a solitary fifer. He took a six-wicket haul during the fourth innings of the first Test at Edgbaston in the 2019 Ashes.
"It's quite hard to schedule in a tour game these days" - Nathan Lyon
Speaking of the absence of a warm-up match ahead of the Ashes, Nathan Lyon stated that the tight schedule makes it almost impossible to keep one. He explained:
"My question is, 'When are we going to fit it in?' You look at the schedule, if a few guys make the IPL [Indian Premier League] final, they won't be arriving in England until five days before the World Test Championship final.
"So it's quite hard to schedule in a tour game these days. I'm not really sure when we're meant to do it. There's no point us only playing with seven players against a county side."
Australia haven't won a series on English soil since 2001 and England haven't held the urn since 2015. As a result, this year's Ashes is bound to be an exciting contest.
Prior to that, though, Australia will compete in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at the Oval in London.