Winning the ICC World Test Championship title for the second consecutive time in London will be an important step in establishing the present Australian facet as one of the biggest groups of all instances, feels star off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The 37-year-old Nathan Lyon is a component of Andrew McDonald’s squad that will tackle South Africa at Lord’s in the last of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
Australia will be wanting to defend the title they clinched in 2023 with a 209-run victory over India at The Oval, and Lyon is eager to construct on the progress made since that triumph.
“It is important that we look at this week as a celebration piece. We’ve done incredibly well over the last couple of years, at home and away, and that is something that as a team, we should be really proud of,” he was quoted as saying by the ICC.
“In my eyes, we’re on a journey to becoming a great Australian team. We’re not there yet, I’m well aware of that, but that’s our goal too.
“This game is another step up that ladder,” stated the spin ace who took the match-winning wicket of Mohammed Siraj in Australia’s win towards India in 2023.
Australia completed second in the league desk throughout the 2023-25 WTC cycle, behind South Africa, having claimed 67.54 per cent of the factors on provide to them.
Australia have been additionally the solely facet that didn’t lose a collection in the 2023-25 cycle, successful 4 of the six collection they performed. Their proportion was solely bettered by the table-topping Proteas’ 69.44 per cent.
Lyon has taken 56 wickets towards South Africa in 18 matches and expects a fierce contest with the facet captained by Temba Bavuma.
“Yes, we’ve been here before, but South Africa qualified first during this World Test Championship,” stated Lyon who has taken 553 wickets from 136 matches since making his Test debut in 2011.
“Throughout these two years, they’ve done something really well to finish top, and so they deserve that home changing room leading into this game.
“It’s international cricket. We’re expecting an extremely hard challenge and there’s going to be a lot of problems out there, but we’re going to have to be good enough to solve those problems ASAP.” The presence of a number of skilled and expert bowlers in the Australian camp like captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland solely provides to the Australian fire-power, stated Lyon.
“As a bowling squad, we are very proud of where we are currently at,” he stated.
“But we’re not leaving any stone unturned and we’re nonetheless attempting to get higher as a bowling group. I really feel that spurs each one of us on to get higher.”
Australia last featured in a Test series in England during the 2023 Ashes — the opening assignment of the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle — but several members of the squad have since returned to ply their trade in county cricket.
Lyon turned out for Lancashire in 2024, while Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and Beau Webster represented Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, respectively, during the ongoing season.
“I really feel such as you get loads of understanding of how the sport is performed over right here in these circumstances, how the Dukes ball strikes round and the way the overhead circumstances play a task,” he said.
“It’s been wonderful to have Greeny over right here. I believe he’s performed 4 or 5 video games for Gloucestershire and executed rather well. So, hopefully, that offers him the confidence to decide issues up from the place he left off.
“It’s important, especially for the younger players, like Greeny, to come over here and play county cricket.”
Published – June 10, 2025 12:33 pm IST
