County stint to give Lyon English tune-up

Nathan Lyon says he jumped at the chance to replace fellow Australian John Hastings to play county cricket, eager for a rare opportunity to cross enemy lines and gain valuable experience in English conditions. 

Worcestershire confirmed on Tuesday the off-spinner would replace Hastings while the allrounder is involved in the Champions Trophy, with Lyon to head to Bristol later this month.

With one eye on the long-term goal of the 2019 Ashes in the United Kingdom – and another on this summer's home series – Lyon can see the clear benefits of a red-ball stint with Worcestershire.

Quick single: Lyon set for county stint

"I was actually just sitting at home when Hastings sent me a message asking if I'd be interested in heading over there to replace him (at Worcestershire) while he's at the Champions Trophy," Lyon told cricket.com.au.

"I said, yeah I'm definitely interested'.

"Worcester contacted my manager and it all went from there.

"It's only going to put me in good stead, playing more four-day cricket, more red-ball cricket and getting to understand how the English want to play off spin.

"I've got a fair indication of that, but it will be good for me to go over there and put my skills to use and to also help some of the young spinners over there and be a leader."

The 29-year-old has never played county cricket but has featured in eight Ashes Tests in England, taking 25 wickets at 30.

"It's exciting to get back playing after a couple of weeks off after the India tour," Lyon said.

"I've always said I want to keep challenging myself in different conditions and learn how to adapt to different conditions, so this is another step in that.

"Bowling with Duke balls in England conditions, early on in the season as well, that's going to be pretty interesting.

"And I daresay it'll be a bit different to the Test wickets I've been used to playing on over there, but it'll be a good challenge and I'm looking forward to it."

And while Lyon isn't likely to come up against too many of this summer's Ashes opponents during his stint with the Division Two outfit – the most likely being paceman Stuart Broad and incumbent opener Keaton Jennings – he does hope to claim the upper hand should the opportunity arise.

"I don't know how many England players I'll be playing against but if I come up against the likes of Alastair Cook or someone it'll be a good challenge," he said.

Quick single: Return closer for injured Lynn

Lyon took 19 wickets at 25.26 during Australia's 2-1 Test series defeat in India, re-writing the record books in the second Test when he snared an astonishing 8-50 – the best performance by a touring bowler in India - but the off-spinner says the disappointment of relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy made it hard to enjoy personal successes on the subcontinent.

"I've always said it's hard to look at a Test series we haven't won and assess personal success, but I was happy with how the ball came out and I was happy especially for how all the younger guys in the team were able to go over and stand up against India.

"A lot of people wrote us off but to go and lose 2-1, it was heartbreaking on one hand, but satisfying on another hand to get so close to them in their condition.

"We all know how good they are in their conditions, they're the number one team, so to play in their backyard and win first test then come close (was good) but we weren't good enough for long enough."