"There is no line in the sand" - Nathan Lyon aspires to prolong his playing career to win elusive silverwares
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon wishes to earn more laurels for his country before hanging up his boots. The 35-year-old has been the nation's first-choice spinner in red-ball cricket for several years now.
Despite the likes of Todd Murphy, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Agar, and Matthew Kuhnemann rising through the ranks, Lyon has no plans to retire anytime soon. Despite his illustrious achievements. the off-spinner is yet to win an Ashes series in England as well as defeat India in the subcontinent.
With both series coinciding in 2027 yeat again, Nathan Lyon admitted that he might play until then to conquer the final frontiers.
"There is no line in the sand," Lyon told AAP. "I am not saying I want to get so many wickets and then be calling it quits. It is still about me trying to get better each day, learning and really enjoying the game."
"I have never met anyone who can conquer the game of cricket," he continued. "I definitely won't conquer it, but I am going to give it my best to learn each and every day and try and get better. You learn from your mistakes throughout your journey and you find a way to get better."
Nathan Lyon could seek inspiration from James Anderson, who is set to play The Ashes at the age of 40. The English pacer has shown no signs of slowing down, having recently reached the No.1 summit in Test bowler rankings.
"The back-end of the series I am really proud about" - Nathan Lyon on Australia's performance in India earlier in 2023
Australia toured India as the No.1 ranked team in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, but their two-decade-long wait for a series win in the peninsula continued. The Men in Blue emerged victorious by a 2-1 margin in the four-match series. However, the visitors showed tremendous spirit after being on the receiving end of a 2-0 deficit initially.
Lamenting the team's collapse in Delhi during the second innings of the second Test, Lyon said:
"In Delhi, we panicked for 45 minutes with the bat and that put us well and truly behind the eight-ball. We learned from that and we improved in Indore."
"The back-end of the series I am really proud about," he continued. "If we had identified the bigger moments quicker than what India did a couple of months ago I feel like we would have been in good shape to win that series, but in the end, India was too good."
Predicting a spirited outing against India in the upcoming WTC final, Nathan Lyon concluded:
"They have superstars in their side but our squad is growing together and we are the closest squad we have ever been - on and off the field. We are really confident and so we should be."
India and Australia will lock horns in the WTC final from June 7 onwards at The Oval in London.