Nathan Lyon joins Worcestershire in place of John Hastings

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has signed for Worcestershire for the duration of the Champions Trophy, the English county side confirmed on Tuesday. Lyon, who has taken 247 wickets in 67 Tests, replaces pace bowling compatriot John Hastings who will compete in the 50-over tournament from June 1-18. “Nathan has been mainly playing Test cricket for Australia and is available for Worcestershire as he has not been picked for the Champions Trophy, Australia having selected a couple of batting spinners instead,” said Director of cricket, Steve Rhodes.

“He is the number one international spinner in Australia at the moment and just had recent success in India. The good thing for Worcestershire supporters is we have replaced a top international with another top international cricketer. He is a very good replacement. It is a different slant, from a pace bowler to a spin bowler,” added Rhodes.

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Lyon picked 36 wickets in the 2016-17 Test season, which is the best by an Australian spinner since 2005-06. In the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2016-17, Lyon registered career best bowling figures of 8 for 50 — the second best overall by an Australian spinner in Tests and best in India. Previous record was held by Jason Krejza for taking 8 wickets for 215 runs at Nagpur in 2008-09.