AAA<\/p>\n
My career is actually in George Bailey and Andrew McDonald\u2019s hands right now.<\/p>\n
Nathan Lyon has a red sponge cricket ball gripped tightly in his right hand, with a bent index finger wrapped around the seam like he\u2019s at the top of his mark ready to send down a fizzing off-break, as he has done 34,832 times in Test cricket.<\/p>\n
Instead, he lets it fall.<\/p>\n
The ball drops to the floor of the ex-services club in Orange, a four-hour drive west of Lyon\u2019s home in Sydney, in front of 75 parents and aspiring cricketers who have gathered to listen to the spinner present a leadership seminar.<\/p>\n
The physical demonstration is striking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to do that [drop me], then I\u2019m out of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s greatest off-spinner, with 141 Tests and 567 Test wickets, has just enjoyed a pub meal of bangers and mash. He doesn\u2019t have to be here.<\/p>\n
Lyon has a hamstring injury to rehabilitate<\/a> ahead of Australia\u2019s next Test series, against Bangladesh in August, three daughters to spend time with, plus a host of commitments that come with being one of the country\u2019s most recognisable cricketers.<\/p>\n Yet, Lyon has spent recent weeks driving through country NSW and Victoria as part of the GOATD \u201cHave You Got What It Takes?\u201d regional tour which has become part coaching clinic, part leadership seminar and an informal recruitment drive for spin bowling, with Lyon sharing stories from his career while encouraging youngsters to take up the craft.<\/p>\n GOATD is an online platform Lyon launched in 2023 that was designed for fans to interact more closely with him.<\/p>\n This is the 10th town on the tour, partly funded by CricketNSW, in a passion project for Lyon, who grew up in Young, about 160 kilometres away \u2013 roughly the distance he now covers each week on a road bike as he tries to convince Bailey and McDonald, Australia\u2019s chief selector and head coach, that he remains as fit as ever and up for the challenge of Test cricket.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to make spin bowling cool,\u201d Lyon tells the room, six months after being controversially left out of Australia\u2019s Ashes Test in Brisbane<\/a>, leaving him \u201cabsolutely filthy\u201d.<\/p>\n Bailey, who deemed it unnecessary for Australia to play a spinner in the final Ashes Test at the SCG last summer \u2013 the first time in 138 years the hosts had gone without one at the ground<\/a> \u2013 said in March there was a \u201crealism\u201d about Lyon\u2019s serious hamstring injury and that the \u201cGOAT\u2033\u2063 and his body might never be the same.<\/p>\n The remarks raised eyebrows throughout cricket circles, including Lyon\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cGeorge received a phone call,\u201d Lyon says with a grin. \u201cI\u2019ll leave it at that.\u201d<\/p>\n As complimentary slices of pizza slide onto plates, Lyon asks the room a question.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is my dream?\u201d<\/p>\n The 38-year-old is greeted by confused looks.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream right now is to play cricket for Australia,\u201d he continues. \u201cI know that sounds stupid because I\u2019ve played 141 Tests. It\u2019s no one\u2019s given right to be picked for Australia. But my dream is to make sure that I\u2019m performing right and I\u2019m training my arse off to make sure I\u2019m getting picked.\u201d<\/p>\n The injury <\/p>\n Ripping a hamstring off the bone \u2013 a tear measuring about 15 centimetres \u2013 is not something Lyon would recommend, particularly given he felt he\u2019d been bowling as well as he had in the past five years.<\/p>\n To do it with Australia needing four wickets to retain the Ashes was a brutal blow for Lyon as he hobbled off the Adelaide Oval in December, in scenes reminiscent of the calf injury that sidelined him during the 2023 Ashes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Australia went on to win in Adelaide and retain the urn with a 4-1 series victory. The beers Lyon enjoyed in the SCG sheds after the fifth Test were the last he has consumed.<\/p>\n He believes the lagers drunk after Australia\u2019s World Test Championship victory in 2023 may have contributed to his calf injury a few weeks later.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve removed all that. It\u2019s just a personal choice,\u201d Lyon says. \u201cI need to make the most of this. I can see the benefits of [not drinking] at the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand why the hammy went.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon is 23 weeks post-surgery and in the midst of an intense training block that will ramp up even more next week.<\/p>\n He says he is \u201caddicted\u201d to training, which begins with a morning running session, featuring 78-metre shuttles every 15 seconds with a 15-second rest.<\/p>\n He then bowls about six overs, gets through some gym work and speaks regularly with strength and conditioning guru Tom Carter about what \u201cone-percenters\u201d they can work on.<\/p>\n Then for extras, Lyon has been embarking on 50-kilometre bike rides in the afternoon from his home in Tennyson Point on the Parramatta River and often around Sydney Olympic Park. His slim figure indicates as much.<\/p>\n \u201cRiding is elite \u2013 I thoroughly enjoy it,\u201d Lyon says. \u201cI want to get fitter than I was beforehand. If you do the work, you earn the right to get the reward.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had time up my sleeve, so I haven\u2019t had to try and rush things.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting dropped and the future of spin bowling <\/p>\n In Australia\u2019s final two Ashes Tests against England, selectors chose not to play a specialist spinner. The Boxing Day Test at the MCG finished inside two days on a seamer-friendly pitch, while the SCG Test was played on a surface that offered more turn than most thought it would.<\/p>\n Lyon, out of the squad, was deliberately kept away from a microphone or media duties that week. In the same week, former Australia spinner Stuart MacGill branded the decision not to pick Victorian tweaker Todd Murphy a \u201cdisgrace\u201d and \u201cidiotic\u201d.<\/p>\n Lyon is more measured, but no less passionate.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that Sydney Test, Beau [Webster] bowled well, but I genuinely believe they missed a trick not playing Todd Murphy,\u201d Lyon says. \u201cI think it was the right opportunity for Murph to play, and the conditions were there. It ended up being a good Test. You saw the amount of spin [England\u2019s] Will Jacks was getting there and Beau to a certain degree. I would have loved to see a full-time spinner bowl on that one.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were also a couple of overs away from being in the hurt locker [in Brisbane].\u201d<\/p>\n Since the death of Shane Warne in 2022, Lyon feels it is his duty to fight the good fight for spinners.<\/p>\n He is so passionate about it that he wants to chat to Cricket Australia about the prospect of being the country\u2019s spin bowling overlord when he retires \u2013 \u201cit\u2019s been floated in passing comments\u201d \u2013 where he would have complete oversight of the best young prospects from under-17s to state level, male and female. Head coaching, however, holds little appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m concerned [about the message not picking a spinner sends],\u201d Lyon says. \u201cAs someone who flies the flag for spin bowling and is extremely passionate about it, I want kids to turn Test cricket on and see a spin bowler playing. That doesn\u2019t mean a spinner has to bowl 30 overs every day, but in my opinion, there needs to be variation within a Test side.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be the guy with magic fingers who can turn a game on its head.\u201d<\/p>\n The visit to Orange is followed by stops in Dubbo and Parkes, and for Lyon, the effort is worthwhile.<\/p>\n He remembers what it felt like as a kid when a professional cricketer ignored a request for an autograph.<\/p>\n With rain forcing the Orange clinic indoors, Lyon is more than happy to show six young girls the grip required to bowl an off-break.<\/p>\n The Q and A sessions are arguably the most entertaining.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve played a little bit of cricket, so make sure you ask,\u201d Lyon tells the children who are absorbed by his presence.<\/p>\n Hardest batsman to bowl to?<\/p>\n \u201cAB de Villiers.\u201d<\/p>\n Heroes?<\/p>\n \u201cShane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n Thoughts on Bazball?<\/p>\n \u201cI like it. I think I\u2019m 7-0 against it.\u201d<\/p>\n What shoe size are you?<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the second time I\u2019ve had this question. Size 10.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon has never captained Australia but led the team song on 67 occasions before handing over the honour to Alex Carey last year in Barbados. His speeches on leadership pay tribute to the likes of Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer at pivotal moments in his career.<\/p>\n He knows the next 14 months could shape his legacy and Australia\u2019s fortunes, with massive tours of South Africa, India and England looming.<\/p>\n Lyon also knows his career is much closer to the end than the beginning and he is just hoping to squeeze as much juice as he can out of the lemon.<\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/87d080ed3d487adbfddea300a9a633efb8e6d444300ab0338594e02907ef098f.jpeg\")
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon speaks to parents and budding cricketers in Orange. GOATD<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6fd7aa95f83b9be0932c6c57416c77a052d55c72.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon inside the SCG sheds in the lead up to the Ashes.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/47dd1c2a2b21c9d05277927912c75878450a0a467703e7f880b7f574d04adbe6.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon with a young cricket fan in Orange. GOATD<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d7d5c16cdc7583b75a8bda20c9c0d832ba5151cf.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon limps off the Adelaide Oval after injuring his hamstring.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8323c7bc0fae4fdab6d9641cc532800e1cd6524d.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon during the Brisbane Ashes Test. Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/965e2d153819b4ba1a65f2dba5ebd4d551adf178.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon takes the final wicket of Australia\u2019s thrilling win against India in the 2024 Boxing Day Test at the MCG.Getty ImagesOn the ground making a difference<\/p>\n![\"Nathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/109593eab47a2cdbfdd96ecd041767a0650b80add726bc03aa83f1c6c9589f01.jpeg\")
Nathan Lyon spreading the gospel of spin bowling to young cricketers in NSW.GOATD<\/p>\n![\"All](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/096bb846769338fbc0977f7b549f7fb27d2d9d43f6e61f16b66fd9e3abc4f852.jpeg\")
All smiles in country NSW. GOATD<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780689675_105_ec762735271f71d766c0f6c697db85e055bf4bbd.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n