‘Another WTC Final would be on my cards’ – Nathan Lyon shuts down retirement talk

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon is keen to continue playing and help his nation win a second ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title. The off-spinner played a significant role in Aussies’ first victory in the WTC Final against India in 2023 and was also part of the team that lost against South Africa at Lord’s in June.

Lyon has no plans to retire anytime soon, despite recently passing on the responsibility of leading Australia’s victory song to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. The 37-year-old has plenty on his plate to achieve, with away series wins in India and England and primarily another WTC title.

“I’ve always said I want to win away in India. I want to win away in England. We’ve got that opportunity in a couple of years’ time, but we’ve also got to take it Test by Test and make sure that we’re doing everything here in the West Indies right,” Lyon said to ICC.

“Then we’ve got a massive summer at home with the Ashes. But another World Test Championship Final would be on my cards for sure,” he added.

Lyon has scalped 556 Test wickets so far which is third on the list for Australian bowlers. Leading the charts, the legendary leggie Shane Warne with 708 and former right-arm seamer Glenn McGrath with 563 wickets.

The New South Wales-born cricketer is not focused on becoming Australia’s highest wicket-taker and wants to aim on winning games in the longest-format for his side.

“Warney’s a long way away. And in my eyes, he’s the greatest to ever play the game. I’m just lucky to be part of a pretty special cricket team at the moment. We’re on our way to becoming a great cricket team, we are not there (yet) as I always say. But to be part of this bowling attack and play my role is special. That’s the reason why I keep playing,” Lyon concluded.