Revitalised Lyon has Benaud in his sights

It says plenty about Nathan Lyon's rise from net bowler to Test star that the he wryly assumes the late Richie Benaud, the man he's about to overtake as Australia's second greatest Test spinner, thought he would probably never get there.

While Lyon gives the impression he's uncomfortable having his name thrown around in the same sentence as the former Australia captain, his record speaks for itself.

Currently sitting on 247 Test scalps, Lyon will almost certainly surpass Benaud's tally of 248 on Australia's two-match Qantas Tour of Bangladesh to become the most prolific spinner to wear the Baggy Green aside from the great Shane Warne.

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"I've got to get there first," a tongue-in-cheek Lyon told reporters in Dhaka on Friday.

"It'll be nice but I've always said ... at the end of my career I'll look back and see where I get to.

"I'm not here to make milestones, I'm here to win series and games of cricket for Australia.

Image Id: C8C8F056F2BC4FC7AF9FA421475E2F80 Image Caption: Richie Benaud, the legendary Australian allrounder of the 1950s and 1960s // Getty

"I'll look back at my achievements at the end of my career."

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The playing careers of Lyon and Benaud, who went on to become one of the game’s most iconic television broadcasters before he passed away aged 84 in 2015, have little in common.

From Sydney’s western suburbs, Benaud was a highly-rated junior and made his debut for NSW as a teenager. Lyon, meanwhile, was a late-bloomer who played grade cricket in Canberra before being spotted bowling in the nets at Adelaide Oval, where he was a member of the ground staff.

After churning through 10 different spinners in four-and-a-half years after Warne's retirement in 2007, Australia struck gold in Lyon, who dismissed Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara with his first ball in international cricket and finished with 5-34 in his maiden Test bowling innings.

Benaud’s brisk leg-spin on the other hand didn’t yield a five-wicket haul in his first 24 Tests. He blossomed with bat and ball as his career went on, however, picking up 16 five-fers in 39 more matches after that, while he also struck three hundreds.

"I met Richie a couple of times, I was very lucky to meet Richie," Lyon said.

"I was a long way off him then. I don't think he ever thought I would get there.

"He was just a nice, humble guy. He was a legend of the game ... someone very special to the Australian cricket team.

"It's very special to have met someone like Richie and been able to talk to him."

Image Id: 48405A63245F4CB8A8197F3FCC9574C6 Image Caption: Lyon and 'The Richies' at the SCG // Getty

While Lyon's record at home (113 wickets at 34.17) has been seen him miss just the one Test since his debut, his record on the subcontinent – where, unlike in Australia, slow bowlers are expected to take the bulk of the wickets – had come under scrutiny ahead of this year's tour of India.

Leading into that series, his 42 wickets in Asian Tests had cost 42.57 apiece, a far cry from Benaud's career mark of 71 scalps at 19.32 on the subcontinent.

But 19 wickets at 25.26 in the four Tests against India, including a devastating eight-wicket haul in Bengaluru, showed he'd made a huge leap.

In fact, Lyon's bowling average in India (30.58) suggests he's been a more threatening prospect there than the great Warne, whose 34 wickets in India cost 43.11 each.

"I think the team has got a lot of belief out of that," Lyon said of their 1-2 series defeat in India.

"It is pretty much the same squad here in Bangladesh.

"Talking to a lot of the boys, we are quietly confident in our own processes to get the job done here in Bangladesh.

"And personally, I am very happy with the way I am bowling."

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.

22-23 August Tour match, TBC

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong