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Australian veteran spinner Nathan Lyon wants to follow in the footsteps of late Aussie wizard Shane Warne by promoting the art of spin-bowling on a global stage and "make it cool again".
In an international career that lasted more than 13 years, Warne has been credited with reviving the art of spin during his time, filling up stadiums with crowds gathered to watch the guile as well as the swagger that only he possessed. Lyon paid homage to the legendary spinner, expressing his deep admiration and determination to keep Warne's legacy alive. "I looked at Shane Warne, the greatest to ever play the game, and he used to fly the flag for spin bowlers," Lyon said speaking to The Times as quoted by ICC. "Since he passed, I said internally that I wanted to keep spin a big focus, especially in Australia, but all around the world. To make spin cool again and to follow in Shane's footsteps," he added. Warne ended his career in 2007 with 708 Test wickets in 145 games and an overall of 1,001 international wickets, including 293 ODI scalps. Warne is the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests and international cricket next to Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 800 Test scalps and 1,347 international wickets as well. Lyon is currently in the United Kingdon, linking up with Lancashire for the County Championship. Under Lyon's guidance and tutelage at Lancashire will be Tom Hartley, who made an impressive Test debut recently in India. Despite being taken for runs in his debut innings, Hartley showed grit and courage and recorded a seven-wicket haul in the second innings - the best bowling figures so far in the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle - to help guide England to a rare victory against India away from home. The 24-year-old ended the series with 22 wickets, the highest for England and second-highest overall. A keen observer of the sport, Lyon closely followed the India-England series and was thoroughly impressed by Hartley's performance. "I was glued to that [India v England] series, I am a cricket tragic, there is no hiding that," Lyon said. "To see Tom make his debut and play the five Test matches ... he is a talent. He is only 24 and to see what he does, what I believe he can get better at, he's got a big future ahead of him." "I am happy to help Tom in making sure he has the skill set so when he comes to Australia he can be effective. I know I am Australian, but I want the health of Test cricket to grow around the world, especially flying the flag for spinners, because it's the best craft in the game." "When it spins, everyone watches," he concluded. Given Lyon has exclusively been a red-ball player at an international level for the past five years, he will next be seen in action in November when India visit Australia for a five-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting from November 22 in Perth. (ANI)
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