Nathan Michael Lyon is an Australian cricketer who bowls for the team as a right-arm off-break bowler. He was born in Young, New South Wales, Australia, on November 20, 1987.
Lyon holds the record for most wickets taken by an Australian off-spin bowler in a Test match.
Background
Nathan began playing cricket when he was a teenager, representing ACT Cricket’s under-17s and under-19s teams in Canberra. Lyon played ACT Grade cricket for the University of Canberra Cricket Club and Western Districts, and made his Cricket Australia Cup debut in 2008 for the ACT Comets against the South Australian Second XI.
He relocated to Adelaide in 2010 and began his career as a member of the Adelaide Oval’s ground staff. He used to play with the Comets while also competing for the Prospect Cricket Club in the South Australian Grade Cricket League.
Lyon’s strong showing in the Futures League Twenty20 for the Comets in Melbourne in December 2010 drew the attention of Darren Berry, who chose Nathan to play for the Southern Redbacks in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Club Career
Lyon was the top wicket-taker in the 2010–11 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, which the Redbacks won. Lyon has represented South Australia in the Sheffield Shield and the Australian domestic limited-overs tournament, as well as Australia A in Zimbabwe. In the tri-series, he took 11 wickets and was named Man of the Series.
Lyon was signed by Worcestershire in May 2017 as a backup for John Hastings, who was occupied with the ICC Champions Trophy at the time.
Debut
Lyon was named to the Australian Test squad for their tour of Sri Lanka in 2011. On August 31, 2011, he made his Test debut in Galle.
Nathan has played in one ODI and one T20 match for Australia, but he is mostly a Test player.
Records
Nathan Lyon is the third Australian and the seventeenth international player to take his first international wicket off his first ball in Test cricket.