Lyon ‘definitely’ wants to play at World Cup

MELBOURNE: Although long established as Australia’s premier Test spinner, Nathan Lyon is yet to properly make his mark in white-ball international cricket.

He recently moved past Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee into fourth place in Australia’s all-time Test wicket-takers charts, while his 318 wickets is also the third-most by an off-spinner in Test history.

However, despite his success, Lyon has played just 15 ODIs and two T20Is, set against 80 Test caps.With Australia’s ODI fortunes at a low ebb – they have won just three of their last 21 completed ODIs – and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup just around the corner, there have been calls for Lyon to become a fixture in the ODI side, having played just two games in the last two years, both appearances coming against England in June.

When asked if he was keen to play in next year’s global tournament, Lyon was unequivocal.“Definitely,” he said. “I had a really good chat to the selectors about the ODI stuff and the T20 stuff as well.”

However, Lyon is also clear about where his focus lies, with a home Test series against No 1 ranked side India to play before that World Cup.“I know where I sit with the white-ball cricket and I had a big focus on this Test series, we know how big it is playing against the best guys in the world and the best side in the world,” he said.“I’m just making sure that we’re ready to go come Test cricket, and I’m getting enough overs under my belt.”