Nathan Lyon finds himself firmly in the crosshairs of the Barmy Army’s sights

WITH Mitchell Johnson ­retiring after the last Ashes ­series, the England supporters lost their No. 1 whipping boy, writes MIKE COLMAN.

Nathan Lyon has found himself firmly in the crosshairs of the Barmy Army’s sights.

LAST summer Nathan Lyon became an unlikely hero.

This summer he’s set to become an even more unlikely villain.

With Mitchell Johnson ­retiring after the last Ashes ­series, the England supporters lost their No. 1 whipping boy.

There was talk that Steve Smith and Dave Warner would be the ones to fill the void but with the first Test creaking to the finish line, it is Lyon who has found himself firmly in the crosshairs of the Barmy Army’s sights.

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Given that the follicly challenged spinner lacks the imposing physical presence of the Australian quicks — and the fact that he became a local crowd favourite largely on the back of former Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade chirping “Nice Garry” after his every delivery — Lyon would seem the last person to top the touring England fans’ hit list.

Yet he already has got so far up their noses that they’re working on a song they hope will prove just as catchy — and irritating — as the incessant “he bowls to the left, he bowls to the right” that turned Johnson into a gibbering wreck in England two years ago.

“We quite liked Nathan Lyon before we got here,” said Chris Millard, 22, the Barmy Army operations manager (and, yes, that is his real job).

“But all those things he said in the week before the Test, about ending careers, we thought were most uncalled for.”

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Nathan Lyon has found himself firmly in the crosshairs of the Barmy Army’s sights.

And if they didn’t like “Garry” before the Test started, they liked him less and less as it went on.

In the first over of the match he got up in the face of England opener Mark Stoneman and gave him a gobful, much to the astonishment of commentators — and the ire of English supporters.

Then there is his habit of raising his arm as if to appeal after nearly every delivery, regardless of how far from either bat or pad the ball might be, which is fast driving the England fans to distraction.

Couple that with his propensity to send the England batsmen back to the sheds with almost monotonous regularity and it all points to a prickly relationship between Lyon and the Poms this summer.

To which we should all say … thank goodness for that.

If there is one thing that has become obvious as this Test drags on, it is that the series is missing the personalities, feuds and excitement of previous years.

Members of the Barmy Army are seen cheering on Day 4 of the first Ashes Test.

The Barmy Army claimed that their presence wasn’t felt on the first day because the English fans were scattered around the ground.

More likely it was because the torpid batting of Stoneman and James Vince had put them all to sleep.

Likewise, the Aussie supporters found it hard to find anyone to sledge, with their favourite targets of years gone by such as Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott and Kevin ­Pietersen, mouthing off in the commentary boxes rather than on the field.

The glory days of Lillee, Thommo and Tony Greig going at it never felt further away.

There’s so little niggle going on that they should be playing with a beige ball.

But Millard reckons that situation is about to change.

“We’ll have something ready by Adelaide,” he said.

“We’re going after Lyon.”

To which there is only one thing to say. Nice Garry.