‘Did that on Purpose…’: Nathan Lyon recalls his sledging tactics against English team in 2017-18 Ashes

In around 3 months, England team is going to tour Australia for the Ashes, and the English team will hope to win the series after a gap of 10 years. The last time the Englishmen won The Ashes was back in 2015 when Alastair Cook-led England won the series 3-2.

Having played in 7 Ashes series and a total of 110 wickets to his name, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has opened up about his sledging ahead of the 2017-18 series. Nathan, who currently has 562 wickets in his Test career, shared his views on the topic.

“Looking back at that, I did that on purpose. I wanted to make it about England, take a lot of pressure off ‘Painey’ and Cam Bancroft. Painey (Tim Paine) was coming back into the side, Cam (Bancroft) was making his debut, so there was a lot of pressure on our batting group, especially those young guys. I felt like my game was in a really good area, where I could be confident in backing up my skill (with words). I wanted to take some pressure off them. That’s part of the game – I think I did that, all the attention came to me, which is all right. I’ve always had the approach that I’ll do whatever it takes for this team, and whatever my role needs, whether it is taking heat, I’m more than happy to do that, or bowling off-breaks or going out and doing nightwatchman,” Lyon told Sydney Morning Herald.

During his Test career so far, Nathan Lyon has taken 100 wickets in the Ashes since 2013. His best figures in The Ashes were back in the 2017-18- where he claimed 21 wickets while averaging at 29.23.