Nathan Lyon admits 2nd Test against Bangladesh his most physically taxing for Australia

Nathan Lyon Getty Images

Nathan Lyon has been Australia s go-to-bowler since they had embarked on their Asian tour. Lyon was the mainstay of their spin attack in 4-Test series against India, and now against Bangladesh as well. Lyon in the ongoing second Test in Chittagong grabbed his second successive 5-wicket haul to down a strong Bangladesh batting unit to 263 for 6. Lyon, who recorded figures for 5 for 77 from 28 overs, said that this by far has been his most physically taxing day of cricket for Australia.

That s up there with the hardest Test match cricket days I ve ever had, he said after Day One. This would be my 69th Test match and I don t think I ve been tested like that physically. The pitch was pretty good, to be fair, there s not much spin there at all. I think I bowled four straight ones early and all hit the pads. [The heat] is just one of those things. This is why we do pre-season. You want to test yourself in the hardest conditions and see how you react, Lyon was quoted by Cricbuzz.

Lyon has 123 wickets in Asia from 30 Tests at an average of 35.82. He also has eight 5-fors and a 10-for in subcontinental conditions.

I think it s a lot to do with confidence. This is probably my sixth tour in the subcontinent area so I think leading an attack where I ve played the most games, lead the wicket column with the bowling group, I ve put enough pressure on myself to go out there and perform well. I ve done a lot of work with Sri [Sridharan Sreeram] here, but also John Davison at home. Before this tour I was flying up to Brissy [Brisbane] just to go work with Davo, just to really find a way about what works in the subcontinent. I ve watched a lot of footage of Ashwin, who in my book is probably the No. 1 spinner in the world, Lyon explained.

So in these conditions it s all about adapting and learning and probably putting your ego aside, and what works for me in Australia probably doesn t really work here in the subcontinent. Saying that it s also my strength as well, so I can t go too far from that, I have to put my ego away and really bowl with confidence, in my terms bowl ugly. That might be round-arm for me, trying to undercut the ball a little bit more but using my stock ball as a variation. I think I ve learnt a lot in the subcontinent and I m embracing the challenge, and that s one of the best things, you ve got to want it, you want to go out there and do well for your mates walking out there, but the whole Australian public at home, so it s a good challenge, and I love it, Lyon concluded.