‘Warne is the greatest ever, to play under his shadow is privilege,’ says veteran spinner Nathan Lyon

Ace Australia spinner Nathan Lyon admits taking six to seven years to acknowledge the pressure he felt playing under the shadow of the late Shane Warne, calling it a privilege. Lyon, 36, has picked up 530 Test wickets but still feels he is playing under Warnie’s shadow, someone he regards the ‘greatest ever to play the game’.

Four years after Warne announced his retirement in 2007, Lyon made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle, picking up Kumar Sangakkara on the first ball of his international career. 13 years and 128 Tests later, he stands tall as the seventh-highest Test wicket-taker, and third among top ten after Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563).

"I still feel in the shadow of Shane Warne now, and I'm 129 Test matches in with 530 wickets. The thing is, I'm happy with that, and I'm comfortable with that now. A lot of us felt the pressure of Shane Warne's shadow, and it probably took me a good five, six, or seven years to understand that pressure is a privilege. And if you've got pressure, you're ok, you're doing ok; enjoy it," Lyon said in a chat with Sky Sports Cricket, as per news agency ANI.

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Meanwhile, Warne, who would have turned 55 a few days ago, was the greatest bowler, let alone a spinner, the game has seen, something Lyon also echoes.

In an overly decorated on-field career, which spanned 15 years (1992 to 2007), Warne picked over 700 Test wickets, including bowling two ‘ball of the centuries’ – both to former England captains Mike Gatting and Andrew Strauss, respectively.

Though Lyon is closing in on surpassing McGrath to become Australia’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, chasing Warne’s record looks like a far-fetched dream. He, however, wishes to make Warne, who passed away shockingly in March 2022, and his family proud with his on-field exploits.

"I'm never going to be able to do what Warnie did. Warnie's once-in-a-generation, he's the greatest to play the game in my opinion, and all I want to do is make my family proud, and make Shane Warne proud, and just go out there and compete," Lyon added.

Lyon ready for India challenge

With the cricket world gearing up for a massive series at the end of this year – India’s tour of Australia beginning mid-November – Lyon aims to end India’s honeymoon run Down Under.

Having suffered twin series defeats in 2018-19 and 2020-21, Australia is hungry to turn the tables and win the home Border-Gavaskar series.

(With inputs from agencies)